Blood Red Roses
by ghostgirl19
Summary: Marinette never would have guessed that her secret admirer who was leaving her roses was really a vampire prince. AU
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: A supernatural MariChat for you for Halloween :)**

 **If something or someone isn't mentioned, there's a reason why ;)**

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

There it was, once again.

Marinette picked up the thornless rose from the bookshelf in the wall behind her bed. As usual, she pressed her nose into the bloom and took a deep sniff, inhaling the rich scent.

Every morning for the past month she had been waking up to a single, blood red rose on the same shelf. At first she thought it was a present from her parents, and thanked them for it. However, they denied having anything to do with it.

Maybe you bought it and just forgot about it, they had suggested.

Her parents were terrible at keeping secrets. Whenever they tried to, their lips would start to twitch in their efforts to not break down in giggles. But when she had asked about the rose, their faces were perfectly confused. They truly didn't do it.

Then who did? The only ones who lived there were Marinette and her parents.

That meant some stranger was coming in and leaving them there. They literally had to climb over her to put it on the shelf, somehow without waking her. She considered herself to be a light sleeper, so this stranger must have been quick and light on their feet.

At first she had been utterly terrified at the thought of some mystery person intruding in her room. She tried staying up one night to catch them, but sleep ultimately ended up pulling her into the abyss of dreams.

There was a rose the next morning.

She had even told Alya about this, but the girl only giggled and teased her, claiming she had a secret admirer. Marinette had dismissed the notion with a laugh before going on about how stealthy they were, how they managed to leave roses there without even slightly rousing her.

Her best friend pointed out that Nathanael was really quiet, perhaps he was leaving them there, since they both knew the artist had a crush on her. Marinette highly doubted it, she didn't think the boy was the type to do something like that. And now that she had a possible face to the suspect? The situation seemed more creepy than romantic.

The blackette then inclined her head over her shoulder to steal a look at the red-head. His face was looking down to his sketchbook as he drew, oblivious of the two girls discussing him.

He was a nice guy, but she just didn't feel that way for him. She honestly dreaded the day for when he gathered up the courage to ask her out. She didn't want to have to hurt his feelings.

...

"There was another one this morning," Marinette informed Alya quietly as she took her seat for class.

"Pretty soon there'll be no more roses in Paris," Alya joked. "How long has it been now?"

"A little more than a month," Marinette replied, glancing away.

"Girl, you need to find out who this admirer is already. This introduction is way overdue," her best friend advised.

"I tried!" She protested. "But I always end up falling asleep before I can see them."

"Leave a note asking them if you can meet. I'm dying to know who they are!"

Marinette grinned and raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't I be the one saying that?"

Alya snickered and returned a sly grin. "Hey, it's not my fault my inner journalist is bloodthirsty for more details."

The girls laughed until Mme. Bustier came in and started that day's lesson.

...

Marinette stared down at the paper on her desk in her room. She was about to go to sleep for the night and was seriously contemplating taking Alya's advice and writing a note to the stranger.

But what would she say? She wasn't very good with words.

She sighed and tapped her pencil against the paper. This is why she preferred designing clothes, there were hardly any words involved.

She thought back to her main objective: finding out who the person was. Maybe she should just ask them outright who they were, it was straight to the point and not easily misunderstood.

With that mindset, she bent her head down closer to the paper and began to write.

 _Dear Stranger,_

 _Thank you for the roses, they are very beautiful. But I would like to know who you are, and why you're leaving them. After a month of this, isn't it time we meet?_

 _From, Marinette_

The blackette smiled and picked up the paper, holding it out for inspection. It was short, but to the point without being rude. Perfect.

She turned off her lights and used the staircase to get into bed. Before she went under the covers, she placed the note on the shelf exactly where the person was leaving the roses, that way they wouldn't miss it.

...

Marinette had to admit she was disappointed when she woke the next morning. She wasn't disturbed from her sleep at all during the night like she hoped she would've been. She thought that maybe they would've read her note and revealed themselves to her.

Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she turned to the shelf, expecting a rose.

Her eyes popped open, fully awake.

There was indeed a blood red rose waiting for her, but also a folded piece of paper below it. Marinette didn't fold her note, so this had to be a new one!

She opted to skip smelling it in favor of reading the stranger's letter first.

 _Dear Princesse,_

Marinette paused and raised an eyebrow. Princess?

 _I'm very happy you like them. I picked the best at my disposal for you so I'm very glad you're not disappointed. As for who I am? My, you're an inquisitive little princess, aren't you? Though, I commend you for holding back your curiosity on my identity for this long. I'll indulge you for your patience. You may know me as Chat Noir. While I would love to officially meet you as well, unfortunately it is going to have to wait. I cannot tell you why just yet, I implore you to be patient._

 _The reason why I'm leaving the roses? Well, I would think as to why a gentleman would leave a lady flowers to be quite obvious, wouldn't you agree?_

 _Forever and eternally yours,_

 _Chat Noir_

The letter was written in the most elegant script she had ever seen. It went far beyond than what she had learned in elementary school cursive lessons. Every loop and swirl of the words were smooth and perfect with no flaws that she could spot.

Chat Noir, huh? What kind of a name was that, anyway? Still, at least she had a name to place on the stranger, and knew it was a male. And apparently, he was interested in her, given her intuition was right about the last two lines in the letter.

 _Forever and eternally yours,_

She deduced he felt rather strongly for her despite never having met before. How could he say something like that without knowing her?

Despite her reasoning, blood rushed to her cheeks and her heart beat was just a tad quicker. It felt...exhilerating to have a man trying to woo her. If this was happening in a story she was reading, she'd probably be swooning and going on about how romantic it was.

The blackette picked up her phone to text Alya to come over. Hopefully she could make sense of this and try to sort out her conflicted feelings.

...

A wolf's howl pierced the night air, the sound going straight to the blond's ears.

Years ago he would've winced at the loud volume, but he had grown so used to it by now that it didn't bother him at all. Instead, he grinned and ran to where the sound originated, expertly dodging trees and bushes in his wake.

Due to his impressive speed, he was upon the werewolf in seconds. The creature's lips turned up into a smile before his body began to morph.

"Hey, Nino."

The boy got off his hands and feet and rose to a stance. "Hey, dude! Let me guess, just get back from that human's place?"

The blond's emerald eyes narrowed. 'That human'?

"Her name is Marinette," he hissed, fangs on full display.

Nino frowned and took a step back while holding his hands up in a sign of surrender. "Okay, okay. No need to go all vampire on me."

Chat Noir sighed, the tension leaving his body as his shoulders slumped over. "I'm sorry. It's just-"

"A vampire is protective of their Loved One. I know." Nino offered a small smile, showing he understood him and meant no malice.

Chat's lips curled up. "Thanks."

"But, if I can suggest something..."

"Go ahead."

"Talk to her already!" Nino exclaimed, the sudden rise in his voice making his best friend flinch. "It's been over a month, now, you have to move things along. She's going to get bored if you don't do something."

The vampire smirked and shook his head. "That's where you're wrong, Nino. She left me a note tonight, asking about me."

"She did?!" The man asked, hazel eyes opening wide. "What did she say?"

"You know, you remind me of Lady Chloe sometimes since you always want to know what's happening," Chat chuckled.

The werewolf glowered. "Don't compare me to her, dude. I just want to know about your love life, as all best buds do. Or, more like, 'lack of love life' since you refuse to go anywhere with this girl."

Chat Noir sighed, his smirk vanishing. "I can't. She'd be terrified of me."

"We don't know that. But we can get back to that later. Tell me what she wrote!"

"She basically just asked who I am and why I'm leaving the roses. She may have also wanted to meet..."

"Dude?!" Nino yelled angrily. "She wants to meet you and you didn't go through with it! What are you waiting for? Oh my God, do I have to tell you everything?"

He rolled his eyes at his friend's melodramatics.

Nino managed to settle down enough to ask his next question. "Did you reply to her?"

Chat nodded. "I did. I basically told her that my name is Chat Noir and kind of answered why I was leaving her the roses."

Nino raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "I hope you wrote more than what you told me just now. You tried to flirt at least, right?"

If Chat was human, he was certain his cheeks would've been full-blown red. "I-I think so," he stuttered, rubbing a clawed hand along the back of his neck. "I tried to. I hope it worked."

Now it was Nino's turn to smirk. "Judging by your face, I'd say you did. I know you can't be as innocent as you let on to be sometimes."

The blond let out an airy chuckle. "I suppose not."

"But seriously." His friend's expression turned neutral. "When are you going to meet her? This can't go on forever."

"I know," Chat answered. He looked away from Nino's penetrating gaze. "But like I said before, she'd be terrified of me."

"And like _I_ said before, we don't know that. As your best friend, I can say that you're an awesome guy. She'll love you if you give it a chance."

"That won't matter. She'll only see me as a monster," Chat insisted.

Nino crossed his arms. "If you think that, then why bother with her at all?"

The blond stayed quiet at that. Deep down he really wanted to speak properly to Marinette, learn everything about her, cherish her and give her his undying love for the rest of eternity. But his insecurity kept getting in the way of that dream.

He remembered when he first saw her. He had been travelling in the night, jumping from building to building, when the sweetest smell he had ever came across drifted to his nose. It smelled like vanilla and sugar, and the scent made his fangs ache in need of it.

He tried to find out where it was coming from, only to find a lone girl walking down the street below him. She had a backpack attached to her back and was walking rather quickly. Understandable, humans could get hurt if they were out at late hours.

The vampire got as close as he could without alerting the girl of his presence. He was able to get in front of her and see her perfectly from his perch on the roof of a flower shop.

He had to admit, he was stunned by her beauty. It made him wonder how a human could look like that, vampires were the only sorts of beings who possessed ethereal allure. Yet here was a human girl, entrancing him without even knowing it.

She had midnight-colored hair that was pulled back into two twin-tails, along with fair skin with freckles running across her button nose. Her eyes reminded him of the ocean, they were such a brilliant blue.

Intrigued, he watched her go all the way to a closed bakery. As she slipped in through a side door, he in turn retreated to a balcony on the roof of the bakery. Standing still, he used his superior hearing.

"Maman, Papa, I'm back from Alya's!"

He smiled. He already liked hearing her voice and wanted to hear more.

A man started to talk, most likely her father. "Marinette, you can't keep staying out this late. It's dangerous to be out there all alone."

Marinette. It was a lovely name.

"I know. I'm sorry."

"It's okay, sweetie," a woman's voice said. That had to be Marinette's mother. "Just try not to leave so late anymore. Go to bed, you got school in the morning, you know," she giggled.

"Right. Good night!"

It seemed she loved her parents very much, and was a kind, sweet girl. He was glad she had beauty on the inside as well as the outside.

The vanilla and sugary scent was stronger when she came into her room, right below the balcony. It took all of his willpower to not jump in the room, tug her hair back leaving her neck bare to him, and sink his fangs in.

He shook his head to clear it. He couldn't do that to her, not to this girl he had taken an interest in.

When her light shut off, he peeked down into the skylight to see her laid in bed, rolled over to one side with her eyes closed. She looked so peaceful and beautiful, it was hard to take his eyes off her.

A wild idea came to mind. Suppose he could woo her, have her fall for him. She'd be his Loved One. He could ravish her with love and affection, make her feel like the only girl that mattered in the world, spoil her with gifts and-

The vampire blinked and grinned.

He had to find a rose.

Chat released a breath through his nose. Vampires may not need to breathe, yet he chose to do so anyway. It was probably since Nino had to and growing up with him made some of the werewolf's traits rub off on him.

"Nino. I just...what if she really doesn't like me? I mean, vampires suck blood from people in order to live. Any human would be afraid of us."

The man rested a hand on his best friend's shoulder. "And that's why you need to prove to her that you won't do that to her. Make her not be afraid of you. Besides, you know your pops is getting impatient."

He was right, there. His father had been pushing him to get married for months, now. He had first tried to set up a match between his son and Lady Chloe. But Adrien was vehement in his refusal of the union. Chloe was a childhood friend, but not a wife and even much less so of a Loved One.

Adrien had gone up to his father about a week after he began leaving roses for Marinette. At first he was angry that he chose a human of all creatures to romance, but seeing his son's devotion to her, made him ease off.

Now, he was pushing Adrien to just get together with the girl, turn her, and produce an heir.

Why couldn't anybody understand that it was a lot more complicated than it looked? Vampire and human matches were rare. Most of the time when a vampire fell for a human, the human was horrified and wanted nothing to do with them.

He'd truly be dead if that happened with Marinette.

"Trust me," Nino urged, staring straight into his friend's glowing eyes. "Talk to her. This meeting has been long overdue and you need to make your move. What if some other guy gets to her before you?"

The thought of another male trying to romance his Loved One made a possessive growl rip out of the blond's throat and his fangs to extend.

Nino grinned. "There we go."

* * *

 **A/N: So, what did you think? I hope you liked it :)**

 **A Loved One is a term a vampire uses for their 'mate'. Most of the time it could be their wife, but sometimes a vampire will bestow it on someone if they fall deeply for them before they are married, like Adrien with Marinette :) The term was invented by yours truly ;)**

 **Also, yes, vampires can reproduce in this story. Let's ignore the fact this wouldn't normally be possible since they're dead, kay?**

 **And, the Miraculous exist, although they have an entirely different purpose for this story. You'll learn more later :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I know I have other stories to work on, but I'm taking advice from the English professor I had during my first semester: If you have an idea, write it.**

 **Seriously, if the writing gods bestow their gifts into your mind for a hot second, write it down. Don't worry about punctuation, you can go back later to fix your grammar mistakes. Because ideas can come and go in the blink of an eye. That's why I wrote this, I had the idea and I immediately went to work on it. I've wanted to do a vampire AU for awhile now, but had no idea how to execute it until now :)**

 **Fun Fact: In the story at first, humans were supposed to be aware of vampires, though vampires were still mysterious and dangerous. I changed it because I didn't think it was working too well.**

 **Thank you for the support for this, here's the next chapter!**

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

"So? What do you think?"

Alya gave Chat Noir's letter another once over, bringing the paper to her face in order to better inspect it. Her mouth was in a pensive line as she studied the writing, while occasionally nodding and humming to herself.

She placed down the letter on the bed and folded her hands together on her lap in a strictly business-like manner.

"Marinette, I think I can safely say..."

Her lips twitched up.

"-that you have this guy wrapped around your finger! He's totally in love with you!"

Marinette frowned as she picked up the rose and twirled it in her fingers in thought. Her blue orbs raised back up to meet with Alya's golden ones.

"I don't know. I-"

"Girl," Alya chastised, "stop being so insecure! Is it really that hard to believe that a boy likes you? Granted, the way he's leaving roses in here in the middle of the night is a little weird, but it doesn't look like he wants to hurt you."

"I know," Marinette sighed. "It's just...ugh, I wish I could properly meet him! I just have too many feelings about this!"

"Well," Alya replied with a sly smirk, "you have to admit that it's at least a little romantic."

A pink color highlighted Marinette's cheeks.

"I guess so," she mumbled shyly.

Alya picked up the letter and inspected it again. "And it looks like he's really proper based on his vocabulary, not to mention he's a sweet-talker. I'd really like to meet this guy."

"Tell me about it," Marinette grumbled, a bit peeved. She had every right to be; an admirer leaving her roses then professing his feelings for her in a letter but refusing to reveal himself? It was just complicating the situation even more.

"Chat Noir," Alya murmured in contemplation. "What kind of a name is that, anyway?"

Her best friend shrugged. "I have no idea. I guess he doesn't want to tell me his real name for some reason."

Alya's eyebrows furrowed. "You don't think it _is_ Nathanael, do you?"

Marinette was about to deny it but paused. Chat Noir could be anybody, even the quiet artist that sat in the back of the room. However, she didn't remember him ever being exceptionally good at writing. She's seen his essays; they were good, but not as articulate as the letter she held.

She believed he was like her, excellent at sketching, but terrible with words. Nathanael couldn't write notes that made her heart skip a beat.

She shook her head. "No, I don't think so."

The auburn-haired girl tilted her head and squinted her eyes, once again observing the letter. "Yeah, you're right. Nathanael could never write so...flirt-ily."

After a short period of silence, Alya suddenly brightened.

"It's Saturday, and we're just laying around dissecting this guy's note. Come on, let's go do something."

Marinette perked up as a gasp left her mouth upon remembering a _very_ important detail about this weekend. The stupid cat's note made her forget all about it!

"Yeah, _Le Tissu_ is having a sale this weekend, I have to stock up!"

Alya shook her head with a chuckle. Of course Marinette's idea of a fun Saturday was shopping at a fabric store.

"Alright, we'll stop by."

...

That night, Chat Noir set himself right outside Marinette's window, peeking in and finding the girl to be fast asleep at her desk. Rolls of fabric were scattered around the room, along with stray bits of cloth. He remembered when he used to be confused at seeing all the different fabric, wondering why it was there, but he soon realized that she wanted to be a clothing designer.

A fond smile lifted the corners of his mouth. At the castle she'd have her own private sewing room and never run out of supplies. She'd have everything she could ever need.

The frown sent his lips tugging downwards. He'd never be able to give that to her if he didn't make a move.

 _"Stop being a little_ _ **bitch**_ _," Nino had snapped. "Just go over there and introduce yourself."_

He shook his head and softly growled in aggravation. Introducing yourself to the person you were in love with was a lot harder than it looked! Why, he even bet that she had probably already imagined who her secret admirer was: some tall, dark, handsome _human_.

Well, he was tall, he had that part down. He believed himself to be quite handsome, he didn't think himself to be ugly. He didn't have dark hair or eyes, he hoped she liked blond and green eyes.

And finally, the human part. He could never be human, which was most likely the exact kind of suitor she wanted.

He sighed dejectedly. Maybe he should just-

He felt his cell phone vibrate in his pocket.

Confused, he unzipped the pocket and took out the handy device. His eyebrows drew down when he saw Nino's name and picture flash across the screen. He swiped a clawed finger against the screen and held it to his ear.

"Nino?" He murmured, careful to not accidentally wake his Loved One. "What is it?"

"I knew you'd be having doubts, so I figured I should call," his best friend replied. Chat growled in annoyance.

"Yeah, don't tell me you don't need me right now. I know you were just about to leave the rose and run away."

Damn. Nino really did know him better than anyone.

"Maybe."

"Dude," he groaned. "Just talk to her, dammit! What's the worst that could happen?"

"Oh gee, I don't know," Chat answered sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "Scream in my face? Tell me to get the hell out and never talk to her again? Call the police? Got any other suggestions? Those are just the few I can think of at the top of my head."

"You're really over-dramatic sometimes, you know that?"

"I'm being sensible!"

He heard Nino sigh from the other end of the line. "Look. You're her secret admirer, right?"

Even though he couldn't see, Chat nodded anyway. He quickly corrected it by answering in the affirmative, albeit puzzled. Why would he ask a question he has known the answer to ever since this whole thing started?

"Then act like it!"

The vampire's bright emerald eyes darted off side to side. "I'm not getting you."

"Oh my God, I really do have to tell you everything," Nino moaned. "Act like a suitor would! Flirt with her, compliment her, be a Prince Charming. Talk to her so that she becomes a pile of mush. Now are you getting me? She won't be pissed or afraid of you if you do that."

Chat exhaled through his nose, trying to calm himself. He could do those things, no problem. No problem at all.

Then why was his hand shaking so much?

"Okay, I'll do it. But if she rejects me I'm blaming you."

Nino laughed. "I highly doubt she will, but alright. See you soon, buddy. But not _too_ soon."

Chat rolled his eyes at the suggestive remark. He really didn't think Marinette would fall into his arms after introducing themselves like Nino seemed to think.

"Yeah. See you later."

The line went dead, leading Chat to replace the phone in his pocket. He took another deep breath, despite not needing it to live. Breathing in that deeply somehow comforted him and calmed him down.

 _Okay, relax, you can do this. You're not Prince Adrien Agreste, you're Chat Noir. Cool, confident, suave alley cat._

With that determined mindset, he jumped up to her balcony and set to work on opening the skylight like he had done a million times before. With that done he soundlessly dropped to the bed, landing on all fours.

He peeked over and saw Marinette still fast asleep at her desk, her head laying on her left arm. He didn't think it was a very comfortable position to sleep in, her neck would surely hurt in the morning. Good thing he was there to prevent that from happening, right?

He straightened, willing the determination to surge through his system. He could do this. He'd be cool, confident, and suave, exactly the kind of man a woman would fall for.

With that last thought, he took the hand that was dangling against her side and brought it to his lips.

...

Marinette felt herself being roused from sleep. She saw light filtering in through her eyelids, and she knew her pillow wasn't _this_ uncomfortable.

These signs could only mean one thing. She fell asleep at her desk again.

She slowly creaked her eyes open, her sewing machine soon coming into focus.

Hold on. She was sleeping on her left arm, but her right felt like it was lifted. And something very soft was touching her knuckles.

Curious, she glanced over and saw a man wearing a black leather suit, holding her hand to his lips with his eyes closed.

Wait. What?!

She gasped, fully awake, and stood from her chair. With a spark of fear she tore her hand away, only for the stranger to react by grabbing the other one and bringing it his lips like he had the one before it!

She wrenched that one away as well. He responded by grabbing both in his hands and giving them an equal amount of kisses each.

Confused and scared, she ripped her hands away from him and took a step back. "Who are you?!"

The man picked his head up, the blond strands hanging down his forehead previously obscuring his face from view. Though he gave her a warm smile, she felt a chill run down her spine at his eyes.

They were a luminescent green, a very nice color, but they were eyes that a cat had, slanted pupils and everything. What was this man?

"I am Chat Noir," he spoke in a smooth, masculine voice. He dropped into a gallant bow. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Princess."

Chat Noir? This was Chat Noir? Well, she could see why he called himself that. With black ears atop his head, a belt hanging down to the ground resembling a tail, clawed fingers and eyes like those, he looked every bit a cat.

Although, a small part of her was relieved it wasn't Nathanael.

"You're Chat Noir? The same one who's been leaving me the roses?" She asked.

He nodded and his mouth parted to reveal gleaming white teeth. If she had looked closer, she would've seen the sharp points on his canines.

"The very same. I figured it was time to meet, as you had suggested."

Marinette honestly had no clue what to do. She had her secret admirer standing right there in her room, after all this time when she wanted to see him. She had pictured herself asking all sorts of questions, yet now her mind was drawing a blank.

Chat Noir drooped a little and his smile wavered. "Don't tell me you're disappointed, Princess." The remark was meant to be light and joking, yet it came out a bit nervously.

What did he have to be nervous about? He was a stranger standing in her room, if anything _she_ should be nervous!

"Um, I can't say. I don't know you at all, I can't be disappointed with something I don't completely know yet."

The blond perked up a little at her answer, supposedly the confidence she had earlier seen came back.

"You are so wise, my princess," he complimented with a grin.

There it was again, the 'princess' endearment. She crossed her arms together and gave him a stern look. "Why do you call me that? And I'm not yours."

He blinked, momentarily taken aback, until he regained his cool demeanor. "Of course, you are not mine. I'm sorry for saying that. But I call you a princess because you are one. Maybe not literally, but personality-wise you are."

She raised an eyebrow, growing suspicious of this man. "How can you say that? You don't know me."

He smirked, positively wicked. It made her wariness falter for a second and her stomach to mysteriously buzz.

"Do you think I'd leave roses in any maiden's room? I know you're kind. Judging by all the fabric in your room, I'd say creative, too. I've seen test papers lying about, you're smart, although I will admit you could use some help with physics."

Marinette narrowed her eyes at that. How dare this jerk snoop around and then make assumptions on her lack of skills with physics.

Although, he was right, even if she didn't care to admit it.

"You're breathtakingly beautiful, you entranced me the moment I saw you," he went on, distracting her from her temporary vexation.

She felt her cheeks heat up slightly as well. It wasn't her fault, she wasn't used to hearing compliments about her looks like that. The only ones who told her she was pretty were her parents and Alya.

"Uh, thanks. And-um-when did you see me?"

It really made her wonder when he first saw her. Did she see him in turn and not know it? Well, out of the leather suit, she meant. She knew if she saw him like this she'd never forget him, there weren't a lot of people dressed like him running around in Paris.

He grinned. "I think that's a story for another time."

Marinette tilted her head in puzzlement. Why couldn't he tell her? He didn't look like the kind to share secrets, anyway, judging by the mask he wore and how he didn't refer to himself by a real name.

She decided to ask her next question. However, it wasn't spoken without clear nerves and anxiety. She never confronted a person about their feelings before.

"And I take it that..um-you're interested in me?"

Chat Noir's face broke out into a warm smile, his eyes became half-lidded as he gazed at he with an expression she couldn't place. Before she could react, he stepped closer to her and took her hand in his again, only this time he knelt to the ground.

She looked at him in bewilderment as he placed the hand against his lips. They should've been warm, she noted, but instead they were cool. Yet that did nothing to distract her from the softness of them.

"I'm a lot more than 'interested' in you, Princess. I can tell you how exactly at another time."

She couldn't help but roll her eyes at his stubborn evasiveness to answer her questions.

"Then what can you tell me now?"

Idly, she wondered if she should be snapping at him like this. He was still a stranger and could pull a knife or something on her at any moment. Yet somehow, with the way he had tenderly kissed her knuckles, or how he complimented her, she didn't think him to be all that dangerous.

He released her hand and stood back up with a smile. "Whatever you wish, except for a few things."

"So, in other words, only what you feel like revealing, right?" She asked, a hint of a grin tugging at her lips.

He scoffed a laugh and smirked. "Exactly."

"Okay. How about..." She paused in thought, wanting to ask a question that he could easily answer but not one too mundane, like a favorite color.

"Why are your eyes like that? Like a cat's?"

Chat Noir bit his lip and glanced down at the floor. Marinette angrily narrowed her eyes and looked away. Maybe all he was willing to divulge was stuff like favorite colors. He sounded so debonair in his letter, but here the man himself was, dodging questions and being evasive.

Marinette thought a man trying to pursue a girl would answer questions about himself, and she in turn about herself. How were they supposed to get to know each other if he wasn't going to cooperate? The whole situation was strange enough as it was.

The blond picked his head up, eyes hardened with resolution. "It's because of my Miraculous. It's an object that turns me into 'this'," he gestured down at himself, "and with the suit comes new eyes, apparently."

Marinette found her curiosity growing despite the answer she received. "Why do you have it? Is it just to give you a costume change or...?"

Now he looked really uncomfortable. He started to shuffle his feet and refused to meet her eyes. "It protects me," he murmured.

He didn't say anything more. She pondered if she should push him, but ultimately decided to let the matter drop.

She realized she was being a bit too invasive, especially for someone who has just met him. Possible suitor or not, no one should be pushed to reveal information they don't want to. Perhaps she should just stick with the common, mundane questions for now.

"So," she began awkwardly, putting her hands behind her back. "What's your favorite color?"

He blinked, momentarily taken aback by the sudden change in direction of questioning. It was all too soon when he smiled, comforable and warm.

"Blue."

Marinette felt her lips stretch into a tiny smile.

"Mine's pink."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Ready for more Vampire!Chat? ;)**

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

While Marinette lounged in her chaise, Chat Noir sat in her computer chair. The pair rattled off answers and questions back and forth, to the point where they knew all the little, insignificant things about each other.

However, he didn't reveal much on his life save for his personality. She still didn't know his real name or where he was from. When she asked, he told her that they could discuss that at a later time. Fair enough, she supposed. This was their first meeting, after all.

"So, do you have a best friend?" Marinette asked casually.

He nodded with a smile. "I do. His name's Nino, we grew up together and honestly I probably would be lost without him."

His heartfelt answer brought a smile to her face. "My best friend's name is Alya. We met in high school when she moved here, and we've been best friends ever since."

Marinette suddenly grinned as a devious idea made it's way to her head. She may have been going to far, especially for only knowing him for a few hours, but she couldn't resist asking. She didn't know why, but she felt a strange ease being around him.

"What's the most embarrassing thing to have ever happened to you?"

Chat Noir's eyebrows rose beneath his mask, yet it was all-too-soon when a sly grin lifted his lips.

"The most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to me?" He mused, tapping on his chin with a gloved finger. "Hm. Let me think."

Marinette patiently waited with an excited gleam in her blue eyes. Screw sleeping, this was the most interesting night she's had in a long time.

"I got it," he voiced, still smirking. "When I was younger, my parents paired me up with this girl to be friends with. She wasn't the nicest person, but I had to be the perfect little boy, so I went along with it. One night at a party we were dancing and she kissed me on the cheek in front of everyone. I was mortified, but everyone else was laughing. I got teased for a long time since everyone thought I liked her, Nino really wouldn't let me forget it."

It wasn't really embarrassing compared to other things that could happen, but then again, it was hard to become embarrassed when you're a graceful vampire, and royalty at that. Perfection was implemented in his body ever since he was a toddler and had to take his various lessons, be they educational or etiquette.

He remembered that day well. Back when his mother was alive, she and his father schemed to introduce him to Chloe Bourgeois, heir of the richest vampire family aside from his own. They hoped to make a potential love match for the children and let that seed of romance blossom when they were older.

Suffice to say, it didn't work. The girl's already vain and conceited attitude put off the young Agreste. The only possible thing he considered giving the girl was friendship, and nothing more.

However, Chloe wasn't deterred by his romantic aloofness. She constantly gave him hugs, told him how cute he was, and batted her eyelashes at him like she had seen the older vampire women do.

That's all she did, until the night of Adrien's first ball. His parents convinced him to dance with Chloe first. He did, but afterwards, she leaned in close before he could pull away and planted a big, wet kiss right smack on his cheek.

Adrien ripped away, absolutely mortified and angry, while Chloe and the rest of the ballroom giggled. He tried to wipe the kiss off with the sleeve of his jacket and stomped out of the ballroom, a laughing Nino soon on his heels.

For weeks and even years, people teased Adrien and prodded at him to begin a romance with Chloe. As he gradually refused suggestion after suggestion of courtship, they began to stop. His father understood that nothing was going to happen, and so left him alone about it as well.

But Chloe proved to be relentless. To this day she was still after him, even after he made it public that he found a Loved One.

He was brought out of his musings by a giggling Marinette, whose cheeks were tinted an adorable hue of pink as she laughed.

"That's so cute, but I can understand how you felt. What happened to the girl?"

"Oh, she's still around," Chat answered, the ghost of a smile on his lips. "And still interested."

"Oh."

Marinette had to admit, it felt weird to know that another girl liked Chat Noir. Then again, he wasn't delivering roses to her, was he?

Hm. Was he? She didn't know if he was a one-girl cat or not.

What was she saying?! She's only known him for a few short hours, she really shouldn't be thinking beyond the stage of friendship at this point.

"Don't worry, Princess," he soothed, although she could see the edges of his mouth twitching in barely-concealed mirth. "You're the only one in my heart."

As cheesy as the line was, she couldn't help but feel flattered, even as she rolled her eyes. What did she do to get his devotion, she wondered idly.

A sudden bout of fatigue hit her, the night's talks catching up with her. The designer tried, yet the stubborn yawn escaped past her mouth anyway.

Chat Noir smiled fondly. "You better get to bed, princesses need their beauty sleep. Although I can't imagine you can be any more beautiful than what you are now."

Was he serious? Here she was: yawning, in her pajamas with her hair messed up and her make up taken off, though she didn't wear much, and drooping eyes. How could he possibly consider that beautiful?

"You're crazy," she mumbled before she realized she spoke the accusation aloud. However, she was too tired to care at this point.

Her companion laughed. "I've been told that, before."

The girl let out another yawn, reaching up with her hand to cover it.

"Come on, Marinette, go to bed," he coaxed softly, standing up. "You can't try to stay up all night."

He would've loved to be able to carry her up and tuck her in himself, however, he felt it would be too soon for that kind of intimate contact yet. He didn't want to rush things with her and possibly scare her off.

The blackette gradually got up from the chaise, stretching her arms above her head when she did so. Blinking wearily, she dragged her feet to the staircase and climbed, Chat Noir following closely.

Upon reaching the top she lifted the covers and got inside, taking the hairties out of her hair and shaking her hair loose with her fingers before snuggling under the blankets.

Chat Noir watched, transfixed, at the loose locks spread around the pillow. He had an urge to run his fingers though them as she had, he wanted to know if her hair felt as soft as it looked.

He imperceptively shook his head to clear it, choosing to haul himself out of the trapdoor above her. He peered down at her for one last goodbye when she spoke.

"Are...Are you going to come here, again?" She asked shyly. Her sapphire eyes flickered down to the sheets bunched her hands as she gnawed at her lower lip.

He couldn't help but grin, although inside he was a giddy mess due to the fact she wanted to see him again.

"Of course. I may be irresistibly charming, but even I don't expect for you to fall for me in one night."

He watched as her face colored at his words, proud he could get that kind of reaction out of her. Overall, he'd have to say he was doing a good job so far at this whole 'wooing' thing.

"Oh, I almost forgot."

He reached behind him and snagged the rose that was attached to his belt. The petals were a bit rumpled, but it was still a perfect gift for a princess.

"Here," he said as he tossed the rose down. His Loved One gently picked it up and sent a smile his way, thanking him.

"See you tomorrow night, Princess." With that parting remark, he disappeared back into the night.

...

Later that night, in the safety of the woods, Chat Noir met up with his best friend at their usual meeting spot. Since they both had supernatural senses, they never got lost or mistook the place for any other.

It was a place for them to safely talk without worry of being overheard. Chat may live in a castle and Nino himself in a large house, but both members of their species had amazing hearing and could easily hear two boys speaking in the middle of the night. Hence, why they made this spot in the forest their meet-up place.

"So, how'd it go?" Nino asked, crossing his arms and grinning madly.

"It went great!" Chat exclaimed with a triumphant smile. "I think she likes me! Maybe she'll even love me soon."

Nino shook his head and chuckled. "You're such a sap."

Chat cocked an eyebrow at his friend teasingly. "Says the guy who gave me love advice before I went in."

"Hey, desperate times call for desperate measures."

The pair laughed until Nino interrupted with a question, a frown tugging down the edges of his lips as he got serious.

"So she's okay with you being a vampire, right?"

The blond swallowed anxiously, biting on his lip when he looked away from Nino's penetrating gaze. "Um..."

"Oh no," he moaned, already preparing for the answer.

"I may not have told her that I'm a vampire."

"How could you not have told her that?!" Nino exclaimed, frustrated. "If there's anything she should know about you, it's that!"

"I couldn't tell her," Chat argued, lowering his eyebrows. "I didn't want to screw anything up."

Nino opened his mouth, ready to spew more words of admonishment, when he was cut off by the sound of a high-pitched beeping.

Chat, knowing what that meant, took a look at the blinking green paw print on his ring. "Okay, Plagg. Claws in."

Chat Noir melted away to reveal the Crown Prince of Vampires of France Adrien Agreste in all his royal garb. His hair went back to the flawless, sweeping style he always maintained when he wasn't running around in skin-tight leather. He fiddled with a cuff on the white shirt he wore as he stared up at Plagg.

"Why did you need to come out?" Adrien asked curiously. It wasn't often Plagg summoned him to release the transformation.

The little kwami snickered mischievously. "So I can tell him all about the night you had! But first, where's my cheese?"

Viridescent eyes rolled heavenward as the owner reached into their pocket and took out a wrapped portion of camembert. Nino watched the interaction with an amused grin, always finding Plagg's gluttonous nature and his best friend dealing with it very funny.

"Now, as I was saying," Plagg spoke with cheese still in his mouth, making the words sound garbled but still intelligible, "you should've seen him! They just talked about their likes and dislikes the whole night. Boring stuff! I was waiting for him to tell her he was a vampire then drink some of her blood, but I shouldn't have been expecting something that exciting to happen from _him_."

"Plagg!" Adrien snapped. "First off, it wasn't boring stuff. It's called getting to know each other. Second, I'm not going to drink her blood. I could never do that to her!"

"But dude," Nino cut in, "doesn't that feel, like, really good?"

It was true, sometimes. If a vampire so chose when feeding on a human, they can make the experience extremely pleasurable for them by injecting them with a special chemical in their fangs when biting them.

If they didn't care how the human felt, they'd just yank their heads back, savagely sink their fangs in the neck, and drain them dry, leaving the human feeling every ounce of blood leaving their body and the pain of the bite inflicted on them.

Then there was the third kind of bite: turning them by releasing the venom held in their teeth.

The first option he wouldn't do because first off, they weren't at that stage in their 'relationship' yet, and second, he had no idea how Marinette would take to being bitten. It was better to avoid it altogether for now.

The second option was a no-brainer, there was no way in hell he'd ever hurt her in any way.

The third he wouldn't think of until they talked about it extensively and she was on their wedding bed.

"I can't bite her yet," he declared, shaking his head. "It's too early."

Plagg scoffed and rolled his eyes. "It would make this whole thing go a lot quicker. Isn't that what your dad wants?"

The blond gritted his teeth as he answered. "I don't care. I'm going to do this at Marinette's pace, not my father's."

"And didn't you say you wanted to drink her blood?" Nino inquiried, raising an eyebrow.

"I-I do," he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand as his eyes shifted to the ground.

It was true, he longed for it and never wanted any blood so badly as he did hers. It just smelled so sweet, like vanilla and honey and sugar all mixed into an enticing life-giving liquid.

In spite of that, he wouldn't give into the temptation and plunge his canines into her and drain her dry. The thought of him doing that to his Loved One made him sick. The thought of anyone else trying it had him hissing and imagining himself rearing his fist back and smashing the skull of the perpetrator.

"But I won't do it," he concluded. "I have a lot of self-control."

"That is true," Nino agreed, nodding. "I think you're the calmest vampire ever when it comes to seeing or smelling blood. Speaking of which, when was the last time you drank, anyway?"

Adrien's teeth ached at the question. If he didn't have so much self-restraint, he probably would've drank from Marinette at first sight that night. It was so foolish of him to endanger her like that, he really needed to be more careful. He didn't count on doing it, but any vampire was capable of snapping.

He closed his eyes and breathed through his nose. "Too long."

"Shouldn't you have drank before seeing her tonight? You know, just in case?" Plagg asked dryly, cheese long gone now and in the kwami's belly.

"I forgot, in all honesty," the blond confessed. "I was just so nervous about talking to her that I forgot to drink."

"Bet you regretted it," Nino chuckled.

"I did," he confirmed, remembering how the delectible smell seemed to grow stronger and harder to resist the longer he was there.

"Well, let's go, then. Better to satisfy your thirst before you start trying to bite _me_ ," his best friend joked.

Adrien playfully scoffed. "As if any self-respecting vampire would ever drink from a dog."

"Good, because I wouldn't want a leech like you drinking from me, anyway."

Both boys laughed before each calling for their transformations. Nino silently summoning his wolf's transformation and Adrien ordering Plagg to change him with a yell of, "claws out!"

Both cat and dog grinned at each other before tearing off to the nearest town.

...

"Here we are, a good old-fashioned club," Nino announced, smirking and cracking his knuckles. "Perfect place for a midnight snack."

"You're starting to make me think you're half-vampire," Adrien mused, looking at the nightclub from across the street. "Are you thinking of taking up the iron diet?"

"Nah, meat is more my thing."

The pair of friends walked across the street, striding straight to the front of the line. At first the bouncer simply raised his brows at them, as if reprimanding them for possibly thinking they could go right in. But a little wad of money waved in the air, courtesy of Adrien Agreste, had the friends inside in no time, leaving the large amount of people waiting to get in extremely pissed off.

"I'm going for a real drink," Nino declared over the roaring beat of the music. "Let me know when you're done."

Adrien nodded. "Alright. Don't make me have to drag you out of here."

The werewolf's eyes sparked. "That was one time!"

"One time too many," the blond replied with a glower. "Do you know how heavy a werewolf is to carry? And how annoying it is to put up with their constant puking?"

"Harsh, much?" Nino muttered, not offering anything else before walking to the bar.

Meanwhile, Adrien's eyes inspected the entire club, going over each and every person. He happened to spy a young brunette on the dance floor, switching partners every few seconds.

Perfect, she wasn't with any one person at the moment and no one would notice her absence for a few minutes.

The Prince ruffled his hair to give it that untameable look, fixed his mouth into a flirtatious smirk and strode forward.

...

A few compliments and dances later, along with a couple drinks, the vampire finally had his victim pinned to a wall on the side of the club. Her half-lidded, glazed eyes and coquettish twist of the lips told him she had something entirely different planned compared to what he wanted to do.

He made sure he had a good grip on her wrists before lowering his mouth closer to her neck, right above the pulsing vein. The girl shivered at the gorgeous blond's closeness.

"This will only hurt for a second," he cautioned lowly before gently easing his fangs in her skin.

The girl gasped in pain, but all too soon it was changed to a sigh of satisfaction once the special chemical kicked in.

Normally using it was reserved for only amorous intentions. Despite that, Adrien always used it when feeding from people; he couldn't bring himself to physically hurt another person.

The girl moaned and gasped as he drank. It was honestly making him uncomfortable, hearing a woman moan underneath him that wasn't Marinette. It made him feel...dirty. Like he was betraying her.

But vampires had to drink blood in order to live, and animal blood tasted disgusting, and drinking from men he found to be even more awkward and harder to entice to get alone. Thus, his current method of feeding.

Once he had his fill, he quickly swiped his tongue over the two puncture wounds to heal them. He pulled back to look into the girl's dilated eyes, finding she was still aroused from the chemical.

That, combined with the amount of alcohol she drank with him (and who knows how many with before him), would most likely ensure her forgetfulness of the whole thing. Even if she did remember bits and pieces, the bite marks were gone and fully healed.

Adrien led her by the hand back inside, making sure to give the bouncer a devilish wink as he passed to not arouse any suspicion. The older man chuckled and moved aside to let the pair through.

"Why don't you go find whoever you came here with, hm?" He suggested softly. "I'll be right behind you."

"Okay," she giggled and ran off to her friends, presumably to tell them of the handsome man she met and was going home with for the night.

Adrien quickly made his way over to the bar, where his best friend was talking to a girl and slowly finishing his drink.

"Hey, man, I'm done," he whispered, hovering closely to his best friend.

Nino closed his eyes and groaned in misery. "You always do this to me, right when I'm in the middle of something about to get good."

Adrien rolled his eyes. "Well, _sor-ry_. Now come on, she'll be back any minute."

Nino groaned again and apologized to the girl he was conversing with, her giving him an air-kiss in parting before Adrien literally dragged the werewolf off his seat and out of the club.

Maybe he should start leaving Nino home from now on.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"-and then he left."

"I can't believe it," Alya squealed, then faked a sob. "My innocent Marinette, all grown up and having secret rendezvous with a mysterious masked man in her bedroom."

She faked a hiccup before donning a wicked grin. "This is too good to be true!"

Marinette rolled her eyes. "I'm not even that innocent. I'm 17, after all."

"True, unfortunately the ways of public school have corrupted a bit of your mind," she teased. "Anyway, what do you think of Chat Noir? Do you see anything happening?"

The designer blushed and picked at a stray string on her comforter. She didn't meet Alya's eager eyes as she spoke.

"I-I think so. I mean, he seems nice so far. He doesn't seem like the other guys at school."

"Yeah," Alya agreed, making a sour face. "Most of those guys are immature pervs."

"Chat Noir was nothing like that," Marinette said softly, smiling at the memory of him. "He may have been a little cheesy at times, but I think he's really sweet. He paid attention and stared into my eyes when we talked, like he was memorizing every word I said."

"Yeah, that's nice and all, but is he hot?" Alya demanded, leaning in closer to the perturbed blackette who leaned away. "While a great personality is gold, you didn't tell me if he's cute or not."

She sighed, knowing she'd have to answer. "He's cute." Her cheeks colored into a rosy pink. " _Very_ cute."

"Come on, details!"

"Well," she faltered, biting her lower lip. "His hair is like sunshine, and it looked so thick and soft. And his eyes, even though they looked like a cat's, they were a beautiful emerald." She smiled and a rare, far-off look settled over the girl's face. "I think he's the most handsome man I've ever seen."

"You're so lucky," Alya grumbled, crossing her arms. "Wish that could happen to me."

Marinette laughed, coming out of her trance. "Don't worry, it'll happen soon. I know it."

"How could you know that?"

"Because what man could _not_ fall for that invasive, mischievous, pushy personality of yours?" She ribbed, snickering before full-out laughing when Alya grabbed a pillow to hit her over the head with.

"But seriously," Marinette continued in between lingering giggles, trying to calm down. "You're a great girl, Alya. It'll happen one day, I promise."

Alya's lips quirked up into a half-grin as she regarded her best friend. "Thanks, girl," she said softly, wrapping her arms around the girl for a hug.

...

"Don't tell me," Nino began before adopting a breathless tone of voice. "You're just counting down the hours until the night, for when you can scale the bakery walls and be with your dear Loved One."

Adrien offered his friend an unimpressed look from his desk, noting the way the man was clasping his hands and holding them up to his cheek, while his hazel eyes blinked rapidly. He looked every bit like the cliche love-struck woman.

"Shut up," he grumbled, knowing if he was a human his cheeks would probably be burning.

"It's just weird seeing you like this, man. I mean, you've never really been into romance at all before Marinette," Nino expained, abandoning his teasings. "You just...well, couldn't care less."

"It's not really my fault, you know how a vampire's feelings work," the blond shrugged.

Nino nodded in understanding. When a vampire likes someone, it doesn't take them long at all to be utterly and completely in love with them. When they fell, they fell _hard_. It was the same for all of them, and Adrien was no different.

Even if this wasn't the case, Adrien knew he most likely would've fallen for her just as quick. She was smart, creative, talented, kind, and beautiful. He could spent an entire lifetime by just becoming lost in her eyes alone, those blue pools that never failed to pull him in their depths and drown him.

He was entirely smitten with the girl. And honestly, he didn't mind. He welcomed the intimate feelings.

"Ugh, you're doing it again," Nino moaned. "That's like the third time today I caught you daydreaming."

"I can't help it!" Adrien retorted, throwing out his hands for emphasis. "I just started talking to her and she doesn't hate me! That means I have a chance!" He grinned, eyes gleaming with anticipation. "Maybe one day she'll love me."

"It'll happen," Nino agreed with a small smile, shaking his head at his best friend's almost child-like excitement. "Trust me."

"I hope," the vampire whispered half to himself and half to Nino. He still couldn't help but have doubts; Marinette could be terrified of him when she found out the truth about him.

In the few seconds of silence that stretched between the two, with the only noises being Plagg's messy eating of camembert from his bedside table, Adrien suddenly remembered just what he was thinking about before Nino interrupted him.

"Hey, I was thinking," he began.

Nino raised a brow and crossed his arms. "That's never good."

Adrien frowned and rolled his eyes. "I'm serious."

"Oh, you're serious?" Nino mocked playfully, dipping himself into a gallant bow. "What is it you're serious about, Your Highness?"

The vampire groaned at his best friend's antics, closing his eyes and covering part of his forehead with a hand. "Can you please stop and listen to me?"

The werewolf frowned and straightened again. "Damn, you really are serious. What is it?"

Adrien bit his lower lip and squirmed slightly, nervous about Nino's reaction. "It's...well, I can't see Marinette during the day. You know, the sun and all?"

"Sure you can," he protested. "That's why you have a Miraculous, so you can go into the sunlight without disintegrating yourself."

"That's one way to describe it," the blond chuckled darkly. "Besides, you know I can't go out. How many civilians do you see in cat suits?"

The Miraculous were items vampires used in order to shield themselves from the light. As long as a vampire wore one and had it activated, they could go out in the sunlight whenever they wanted and wouldn't have to worry about dying.

However, this power came with consequences. Yes, they could go out in the light, but they were clothed in often ridiculous costumes. As a result, whenever they had to go out in the daylight, they had to hide or else people would be weirded out and suspicious of why a costumed person was out and about when it wasn't Halloween.

Hence, why this plan wouldn't work if Adrien was involved.

"True," Nino agreed, nodding. "So what are you thinking about?"

"I'm thinking," the vampire answered slowly, "that someone should watch over her in the daytime."

Nino's lips pursed in confusion as his brows dived down. "Why?"

"I can't keep her safe in the sunlight, I have no idea what she does during the day. Anything could happen to her when I'm not there."

The werewolf shook his head at his friend's foolish worry. "Dude. She's survived this long, I'm sure nothing spontaneous is going to happen to change that anytime soon."

"Nino," Adrien snapped irritably. "I have to make sure she's safe at all times. What kind of vampire doesn't protect his Loved One?"

"I understand wanting to make sure she's safe, but come on, don't you think you're worrying too much. Besides, who would you get to watch over her?"

Nino paled in realization once he saw his best friend's lips slowly curve up into a devious smirk.

"No! No, that's stupid!" Nino refused loudly. "How would I even do that? It's not like I can shadow her wherever she goes."

"You see," Adrien drawled mischievously, "there's this place where human children go everyday to learn. It's called 'school', and as Marinette is still under 18, she has to go as well."

"I know what school is, why are you-"

.

.

.

"No. Way. You can't be serious," Nino scoffed in disbelief.

"I thought we've already established the fact that I am."

"Dude! I am _not_ going to school! When I turned 18 I was done with homeschooling, so there is no way in hell I'm going to subject myself to something like that again."

Adrien grinned, knowing he was going to wear down his friend sooner or later. He was trained at a young age to be persistant and resilient, they were qualities a prince must have if he wants to successfully rule over his subjects one day.

"Why not? Maybe it could change your whole life."

"I'm sure it won't," the man scoffed, crossing his arms. "Sorry, man, but it's not happening."

"I could always order you," the blond pointed out lightly.

Nino spluttered out an indignant cry of exasperation. "You're not my Alpha, you can't tell me what to do!"

"Please, Nino," Adrien begged, going for the emotional tactic. "Please? I have no way of knowing she's safe during the day. You'd be a huge help to me." He even got on his knees and clasped his hands together to complete the act, something that a royal _never_ does. But this was a special case.

The werewolf held back a groan. Already he could feel his heartstrings being tugged by the conniving vampire.

"Please? You're my best friend, I'd do the same for you with no questions asked."

This time he couldn't muffle the groan as he slowly slid a hand along his cheek in misery. It was true, after all. He knew that Adrien always had his back and would help him out with anything, at anytime, anywhere.

He sighed. It was time to repay that loyalty back.

"Alright," he grumbled. "I'll go to school and make sure she's okay."

"Thank you!" Adrien declared happily, jumping up and grabbing his best friend for a hug. "Thank you!"

"Dude, you're crushing me!" Nino exclaimed, a small bout of panic rising in him. Werewolves and vampires were both equally strong, but could squeeze each other to death of either one really wanted to. It would be more difficult, given both of the species' durability, but it could be done.

The blond instantly released him and took a step back, adopting a sheepish grin and rubbing the back of his head with his hand. "Sorry."

"Give me the details," Nino growled, still not liking the whole prospect of being subjected to school again.

"Alright," the little shit grinned. "Her full name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng and she goes to Collège Françoise Dupont. I'll make sure your schedule will be the same as hers. Try to befriend her, don't just creep around her, you know?"

"I _know_ ," he ground out. "Relax, I know what to do."

"Okay, okay," Adrien relented, bringing his hands up in a peaceful sign of surrender. "Just making sure. Thanks, man, I owe you big time."

"Damn right you do," Nino agreed. His scowl morphed into a smirk when he thought of just _how_ his best friend could owe him.

"Since I'm going back to school, naturally I'm going to have homework."

The blond raised a brow in curiosity. "Yeah, and? What- _oh_." He glowered when the realization hit him. "Are you serious?"

"Yep," Nino replied cheekily, popping the 'p'. "I'm basically just a placeholder for you. If you could go out in the sunlight without the catsuit, you'd be going to school instead of me. It's only right for you to do my homework."

Adrien had to grudgingly admit that it was true. Nino really was just a placeholder for him, it wouldn't be right to make him do all the homework or projects, plus he was making him get out of bed early and learn things he already knew before.

"Alright, I suppose it's a fair deal."

"Nice doing business with you, Your High-ass-ness."

Adrien rolled his eyes and playfully punched his shoulder.

...

Marinette tapped her fingernails against her desk as she waited for the mysterious Chat Noir to show. It was around 11:00 so she really needed to get to bed soon since it was a school night, she hated going through the school day being tired which was why she tried to avoid going to bed late.

She shouldn't be waiting up for him like this. They weren't secret lovers or anything, she had no excuse to wait for him like some princess in a tower. Besides, what if he didn't even show up? He could have lied to her.

As if right on cue, the sound of soft tapping coming from the skylight leading to her balcony reached her ears.

She bit her lower lip as she felt her stomach knot with nerves. Why was she suddenly so nervous to see him? She only met him once, it wasn't enough to get this affected by him.

The blackette released a breath to calm herself before rising from her seat and going up to open the hatch. When she was just below it and looked up, she found the man himself smiling warmly down at her.

When she opened it she got out of the way to let him jump down onto the bed on all fours, just like his namesake.

He reached behind his back and held out a brilliant red rose.

"For you, Princess."

Marinette couldn't help but smile shyly as she took it, dipping her nose into the bloom to inhale the sweet scent.

"I'm sorry for being so late, I had some matters to attend to," Chat Noir explained. "But now I'm at your disposal for as long as you'd like."

She took the rose away and smiled coyly up at him, staring into his alluring eyes. "I'm afraid your visit can't last too long, I have school in the morning."

"Then I'll be sure to make the most of my time," he purred flirtatiously, leaning down an inch closer to her.

She giggled and pressed a finger to his nose, gently pushing him away. "For someone who has just met me, you sure flirt a lot."

"Yes, but I've been interested for awhile now," he grinned. "We've technically known each other _fur_ about a month, you know, with the whole roses thing?"

"Well that's your fault," she teasingly retorted, choosing to ignore the pun. "If you had gone up and introduced yourself to me properly, and not spent a month mysteriously leaving me roses, then we would've known each other well by now."

Her tiny grin faded into a neutral, inquiring look. "By the way, why did you leave me roses like that? Why not just introduce yourself like anyone else?"

He frowned, his eyes flickering towards her bedsheets.

 _Because I can't approach you in the daylight like this with anyone around, and I was too much of a scaredy cat to introduce myself at night._

"I thought this way would be more romantic." It wasn't a complete lie, he did like the idea and hoped she'd be swooning over it like in all those books and tv shows.

Her lips gradually turned up into an amused smile. "Well...it worked," she admitted, taking a chance and leaving herself vulnerable for a moment.

He perked up and smiled excitedly. "It did?!" Seemingly coming to his senses of how childlike he looked, he cleared his throat and continued in a much deeper baritone. "I mean, it did. Of course it did."

Marinette laughed at that, finding herself liking this Chat Noir even more despite only having officially known him for such a short time.

"So, we never got to finish our conversation from last night," Chat Noir prodded with a sly smirk.

She nodded, having already ceased her laughing. "We didn't."

"Why don't you tell me _your_ most embarrassing story, then?"

...

"-and everyone saw me covered head to toe in flour. I looked like a total mess."

Chat chuckled and shook his head. "I'm sure you could never look like a mess, Princess. It's simply not possible."

Marinette rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Will there ever be a time when you _don't_ compliment me?"

"Nope. Don't people compliment you everyday?"

She couldn't help but raise both of her eyebrows in surprise at the question. Was he serious? She was nowhere near good-looking enough to be complimented everyday. He had to be kidding. "No?"

His eyes widened as he stared incredulously at her. "No?"

She shied away from him, unsure. "No, they don't."

"You should hear compliments every hour of the day."

Sapphire eyes blinked as their owner gazed at him with shock. "Wh-what? No, I don't deserve or need that many compliments."

Chat appreciated her humility, but was wondering just how under-appreciated this girl was. She was absolutely beautiful, on the inside and on the outside. How could people not notice that?

"Well you still deserve them," he insisted stubbornly. "And you won't change my mind on this. I'm going to make up for all that lost time those idiots wasted."

He _was_ serious. Marinette looked away, already knowing a blush was rising to her cheeks. She didn't understand how someone could feel so strongly about her to say that.

There were so many prettier girls at school, like the famous actress Lila Rossi. Lila had the male masses at her beck and call, waiting at her feet for her next order. Marinette never had a boy show devotion to her like this, like Lila's boys.

She had to admit it felt strangely thrilling at the prospect of having a boy like her just as much as one of Lila's. But her modesty far outweighed that tiny feeling and she shook her head.

"No, that's not necessary. Seriously, Chat, I'm just plain and boring. I'm not someone who people should be complimenting everyday. There are far more deserving girls out there."

The feline shifted closer to her on the bed so that they were only a few inches apart. His green eyes were narrowed to dangerous slits. She couldn't help but gulp in slight apprehension.

"Who told you this?" He growled. "Who put those thoughts in your head?"

"No one did! Just..." She fumbled with her words, "It's just life, I guess. I mean, boys have never really paid any attention to me. They all go after the prettier girls and give their attentions to them. Come on, you have to admit that I'm not some drop-dead gorgeous bombshell. I'm average, and clumsy, and-"

However, despite her claims, he only seemed to grow angrier for some reason.

"Quiet, Princess."

The only reason she listened to the command was because she was stunned to silence. He never said anything that rude before, so far he's only showered her with kind words and harmless teasing.

"Listen to me, Marinette, you're absolutely breathtaking. Don't believe me? Let me tell you how."

She continued to watch him, transfixed in what he had to say as her breath hitched in anticipation.

"Your eyes are the deepest and most beautiful blue I've ever seen. They remind me of a cloudless sky on a warm summer day, I could get lost in them forever if I'm not careful. I love the way they sparkle and gleam whenever you smile or laugh, and how they're wide like a doe's. The way you sometimes look up at me through those thick, black lashes makes me tongue-tied and dizzy." He paused to chuckle. "Like now. Only reason why I don't look like a stunned idiot right now is because I'm determined to get a point across."

The designer unceremoniously let her mouth hang open at his declaration.

He grinned. "I'm not done yet. Your hair is the color of the blackest night, and looks soft to the touch. It makes me want to run my fingers through it. Your skin reminds me of cream, flawless and glowing in the moonlight. Your lips are tantalizingly full and the sweetest, most enticing pink."

She was positive her heart stopped beating when he leaned down so that their lips we only a hair's width apart.

"I find myself wondering how they'd feel pressed against mine," he whispered.

Marinette could only gaze at him in silence. Was he going to do it? Her heart beat anew again as it pounded against her chest. How would she feel if he did do it? They'd only known each other for such a short time, yet she felt torn on completing the action.

But he pulled back before she could mentally decide.

"Do you believe me?" He solemnly asked.

With a confession like that? How could she not believe him? She may not see herself why he thought those things about her, but it was obvious he felt very strongly about her looks and was insistent on her agreement with him.

"I-I believe you," she whispered shakily and perhaps a bit breathlessly.

He nodded. "Good. Now, it's pretty late. You said you have school tomorrow, I better get going."

Without warning he took her hand and pressed it against his cool lips. "Don't ever doubt yourself ever again," he murmured and gave her hand another kiss.

He raised his eyes to her own to look for her confirmation.

She slowly nodded and he released her hand, in seconds he let himself out of the hatch.

"Sweet dreams, Princess," he bid before taking off.

* * *

 **A/N: I know Chat was a little forward in his compliments, but he couldn't do with Marinette being insecure about her looks. What do you think?**

 **Also, werewolves in this story are all homeschooled in their packs by someone of their own kind. They try not to venture into the populated world so much. Nino's pack lives not very far from Adrien's castle, which is deep in the forest and far from Paris. Since vampires can't go out in the sunlight, they can't attend school either, so they must be homeschooled as well.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Okay, how do I look?"

Green eyes appraised him, their owner slowly nodding in approval. "Looks good."

Red baseball cap, blue shirt, and a pair headphones around the neck. It was the perfect 'average boy' look that Nino was trying to achieve. Except...

Adrien narrowed his eyes, perplexed by the added accessory to his friend's face. "Wait. What's with the glasses?"

Werewolves, just like vampires, had heightened senses. Furthermore, they didn't need glasses to see.

Nino shrugged. "I thought they looked cool."

The blond shook his head with a scoff, smiling. "You look cool, man."

"Thanks. So, basically, I go in, befriend Marinette, and watch over her, right?"

"Yep," Adrien replied, nodding.

"What does she even look like anyway? And don't give me the mushy dialogue, just give me the facts."

The vampire huffed irritably, not even bothering to hold back on a glare directed at his best friend.

"She has black hair and blue eyes, she's about 5'5, oh and she has these cute little freckles running across her nose," Adrien answered, grinning giddily at the end.

Nino rolled his eyes, but returned his attention back on Adrien as soon as the vampire's eyes narrowed and almost seemed to spark dangerously.

"But you wouldn't know that unless you got close enough to see," the blond murmured darkly, the words not just a hidden threat, but a silent promise of what would happen should Nino get that close to her.

The werewolf gulped audibly while Adrien returned back to his cheerful self and laughed.

"Don't worry, I trust ya, bro."

"Good thing," Nino muttered, still a bit freaked out by his friend's sudden mood swings.

"So, are you ready?" Adrien asked, donning a smile and clasping his hands behind his back, as though he were a proud parent sending their child off to school for the first time. He felt like he was, in a way.

"As I'll ever be," Nino groaned, yawning afterwards. "I still can't believe you're making me do this. No one should be up this early."

"I am and I'm not tired at all," the blond returned cheekily.

His friend glowered. "That's because vampires hardly need any sleep, you bastard."

"Careful, you might actually hurt my feelings," Adrien joked, smirking gleefully.

For what felt like the hundredth time, Nino found himself scowling at the young prince. "I'm about to hurt more than your feelings."

"Aw, come on, you'd never hurt me. Just as I'd never hurt you." He gave a warm smile for a few seconds before speaking again, "you'd better get going, you're going to have to run fast to make it. Here's your schedule."

He held out his hand with the paper in his grasp, Nino took it and stuffed it in the bag he carried over his shoulder.

"Yeah. See you after school." He turned to leave, only pausing mid-way to look back at Adrien. "I never thought I'd ever be saying those words again," he remarked bitterly.

The vampire chuckled and bid him good-bye.

...

Nino looked up at the looming building in front of him, seeing the many high schoolers gradually making their way inside. Most of them traveled in groups, as they talked and laughed the whole way inside.

A brief pang of loneliness hit the werewolf. This would've been so much easier if Adrien was there, he'd be guaranteed to have someone to talk to. For the first time in his whole life, he felt alone.

At home he always either hung out with Adrien, his family, or other members of his pack. This place felt like a foreign land to him, there was absolutely nobody he knew.

He sighed, before breathing deep and locking eyes with the top of the building in determination.

He was here to watch over Marinette. He wouldn't let Adrien down just because he was acting like a puppy.

So, with a sudden burst of confidence, he straightened his shoulders and marched on towards the entrance. He received a couple curious looks from various students, probably since he was new, but he kept on moving forward until he would reach his destination.

Stopping in front of a door, he took out his schedule and peered down at it to make sure he had the room number right. He did, and so he opened the door and walked in.

Nino gulped and plastered on a smile as the students looked him over, probably wondering who the hell he was and why he was there. During that time, his eyes surveyed the room, looking for a girl with black hair and blue eyes.

 _Hmm...nope, nope, nope..._

Finally, his gaze settled on the only girl who hadn't been staring at him. Her head was bent down to what looked to be a sort of tablet, her hand held a pencil and was scribbling something on it with her tongue poked out of her mouth in concentration.

She may have had the black hair, but he couldn't be definite it was her yet until he knew her name.

Luckily, there was an empty bench right in front of her. Nino didn't waste time and walked to it to sit down, the other students meanwhile having gone back to their own business.

He swiveled around to get a better look at the girl. She hadn't reacted at all to his presence, instead choosing to continue drawing whatever she was working on in the sketchbook.

He cleared his throat, impatient to know whether it was her or not.

"Um, hi."

The girl flinched and squeaked in surprise as snapped her head up to lock eyes with him.

Nino blinked as he found himself staring into a pair of brilliantly blue eyes, eyes that he had never seen any vampire or werewolf possess. Her skin was a pretty peach color with a natural blush lighting her cheeks. Thick, black eyelashes fluttered as she blinked inquisitively at him with her head tilted slightly to the side.

"Uh, hi," she greeted shyly. "Are you new here?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I am. I'm Nino."

"I'm Marinette," she offered kindly. "Sorry I didn't notice you before, my designs can sometimes distract me." She giggled uneasily, as if worrying of making the situation awkward.

Ah, so this _was_ his best friend's Loved One. Now he understood why he had fallen for her so hard; her features were flawless and so far she seemed really nice. She was the total opposite of Chloe.

"Sometimes distract you?" A voice cut in, repeating Marinette's words. Nino turned to see another girl slide in the bench beside Marinette, eyeing the two with an amused grin. "Girl, you're _always_ distracted by your designs."

"Not all the time," she argued, fighting back a laugh.

The new girl's grin turned wicked. "Yeah, maybe not when you're meeting with-"

"Alya!" Marinette interrupted hastily, a blush turning her cheeks a deeper shade of pink. "This is Nino, he's new here."

"Hey," Alya greeted, smiling. "What's up?"

His hazel eyes appraised her, noting she was very attractive. She also seemed to be very mischievous from what he could gather, what with her insinuating Marinette's meetings with Adrien. They must be best friends, Nino deduced. He couldn't guess why else Marinette would tell Alya about her rendezvous with 'Chat Noir', since she didn't seem like the type of girl to flaunt something like that.

Nino shrugged. "Not much, considering I'm new here."

Alya nodded, understanding. "Ah. Don't worry, I was the new girl in sophomore year. You'll be fine after a couple days."

He smiled. "Thanks."

"So, made any friends yet?"

"No," he answered, frowning. "The only people who talked to me so far were you guys."

"Well, congrats, 'cause you're making two friends right now!" Alya announced proudly, wrapping an arm around a giggling Marinette, who nodded her assent.

Nino smiled widely, looks like this was going to be pretty easy. "Awesome!"

"So, what kind of music you listen to?" Alya asked, gesturing with her head towards his headphones.

"Anything that Jagged Stone produces," the werewolf replied confidently.

He saw excitement light up in Marinette and Alya's eyes, the girls turning to grin at each other, before they resumed their attention back to him.

"I think we're gonna be pretty good friends," Alya remarked with a smirk.

...

Adrien had been true to his word, Nino ended up having every single class with Marinette. The blackette didn't think anything of it, only commenting on how much of a crazy coincidence it was.

"Yeah, crazy," Nino had replied, trying to sound as much in awe of it as she was.

She invited him to sit with her in the classes she didn't have Alya with, in which case he'd sit somewhere close by. The only other time he couldn't sit with her was in science class, where only science partners sat together.

Since Nino was the odd one out, he would have to join a group so that there would be three people instead of the usual two. The teacher, Ms. Mendeleiev, allowed him to pick a group to join, not wanting to waste any more classtime bothering with something as trivial as that.

As such, Nino joined Marinette's group. She was partnered with a shy, red-haired boy named Nathanael.

As the class went on, Nino noticed the glances Nathanael would sometimes send to the oblivious girl. He would give a small smile until Nino made eye contact with him, at that point the smile would disappear and his cheeks would begin to burn as he ripped his eyes away to stare at his tablet.

It was obvious the guy had a crush on Marinette. He briefly wondered if he should tell Adrien about it, but ultimately decided not to. The guy seemed pretty harmless, it didn't look like he was about to confess his undying love and ask her out anytime soon. Why make trouble for nothing?

Besides, he fully believed that Adrien could successfully sweep her off her feet and she would refuse Nathanael if and when the time ever came.

...

During lunchtime, he had left Marinette with Alya and now waited on the school steps for them. He wasn't going to hover over Marinette all day, he wasn't going to be a creepy stalker or something.

He tilted his head up to the sky and released a breath through his mouth. He remembered everything the teachers were talking about in his various classes, therefore he was thoroughly bored in each of them.

Oh well. At least he didn't have to do any of the homework. That optimistic thought brought a pleased smile to the werewolf's face.

"Hey, you're the new kid, right?"

Nino snapped out of his mental musings, opening his eyes to see a buff, taller guy in front of him with short, dark brown hair with the locks at the front dyed blond, grey eyes, and wearing a red athletic sweatshirt.

Beside him stood a shorter, darker-skinned male, wearing a green shirt with suspenders and black glasses perched upon his nose.

"Yeah, I am," Nino admitted warily, wondering what these guys wanted. He could take both of them on if need be, but he didn't want to start any trouble, especially on his first day.

"I'm Kim, this is my friend Max." Kim gestured to his friend with his thumb, who offered a smile and a wave in greeting. "We wanted to see if you wanted to hang out with us for lunch."

Finally! Some guy friends he could hang out with!

"Yeah! Su-...no. Sorry, I can't."

Damn. He was all excited but remembered he had to watch over Marinette. Doing that didn't entail leaving the girl alone while he had lunch with some new possible friends.

"Are you certain?" Max asked, looking concerned. "By my calculations, you shouldn't have made any possible close acquaintances yet given your current time at this school, which is precisely four hours, five minutes, and 23 seconds."

Nino arched a brow, a bit bewildered by this guy's speech. It was obvious he was extremely smart, but the guy next to him looked to be a total jock. He didn't think jocks and nerds hung out with each other, but hey, it looks like the modern world may be improving after all.

"Max, don't scare him off with that science-y shit," Kim laughed, lightly shooting his elbow into Max's shoulder. The shorter man winced slightly but didn't voice his slight pain.

"It's _math_ , actually, and-"

"Hey, Nino!"

The three boys rotated their heads to look at the most known girl duo in school racing down the steps with big smiles on their faces. Marinette and Alya stopped in front of the group, gasping for air.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Marinette tripped... _again_ ," Alya informed, snickering.

Marinette's cheeks flamed in embarrassment and annoyance. "I don't trip _all_ the time!" She huffed.

"You're right, you don't trip all the time," Max informed lightly. "But this week alone you've tripped a total of three times, excluding the possible ones to happen while not at school, and it's only Monday. On average, you trip about-"

"Thanks, Max," Marinette deadpanned. "I think everyone understands how clumsy I am."

"Sorry," he returned sheepishly, earning a laugh from Kim.

"Hey, why don't we all go to lunch?" Alya suddenly offered. "At first it was just gonna be me, Nino, and Marinette. But do you guys wanna come with us?"

"Sure!" Kim replied, jovial.

"Let's go, then!"

* * *

 **A/N: Yay! Nino is making some new friends :)**

 **Now, you all probably expected for Nino to freeze up as soon as he saw Alya, right? That's why I had to make it so he didn't ;) Lol but really, I did it because they're going to have a slow romance. He'll start to freeze once he realizes his feelings ;)**

 **And werewolves do have mates, but they're not pre-determined by destiny or whatever. A mate is a werewolf's companion, chosen by them. It's pretty much like human marriage.**

 **Also, no, Nino doesn't feel attracted to Marinette nor does he have feelings for her or ever will. He just acknowledges that she's very pretty. He knows that Adrien has fallen in love with her, and can tell that Marinette might be soon developing feelings for his best friend in return, so why would he want to jeopardize that? I know, you can't control who you fall for, but Nino just isn't even thinking about Marinette 'in that way'. He respects his friend too much to even try to do so. Does that make sense?**

 **Till next time :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"Honey, I'm home!"

Adrien cracked a grin as Nino sauntered through his bedroom door, carrying his bag in one hand. His clothes were rumpled and his hat was crooked, making the boy look like he'd been through quite a rough day.

He collapsed on the floor, as though he couldn't bring himself to take another step. Adrien simply leaned against his desk and crossed his arms, smiling in amusement.

"The horror!" The werewolf cried out dramatically. "You have no idea what I've been through!"

"Oh? Please, do explain," the blond replied dryly.

"It all started when I had to wake up at the ungodly hour of seven, to make it to school by eight. Then, I had to go to classes and listen to teachers talk of things I already knew. I was so bored, Your Highness!"

The Prince hummed, nodding. "I see. Continue."

"I had to walk to all my classes, so much walking! Then at the end of the day, when I was thoroughly exhausted, I had to run all the way back here! I am in so much pain, my dearest friend."

Adrien shrugged, fighting against a smile threatening to break out on his face. "You'll get over it."

Nino huffed, getting into a stance and eyeing his friend distastefully. "Jeez, what does it take to get a little sympathy around here?"

"When you show that you deserve it," Adrien returned, this time not even bothering to hide his smirk. "Seriously, though, how was your day? Did you find Marinette?"

Nino rolled his eyes. "No, dude, I didn't find Marinette, despite you putting me in all the same classes as her. Nope, never noticed her."

Now it was Adrien's turn to roll his eyes. "Come on, just answer the question."

"Alright, alright," he grumbled. "I saw Marinette, and I befriended her and followed her around like a devoted pet. Happy now?"

"Yes," the blond answered, grinning. "By the way, wouldn't that technically be true? I mean, you kind of are a dog, and dogs are often kept as pets..."

While Adrien laughed at his joke, Nino glowered and refused to answer. Instead, he walked to the window, grabbed ahold of the curtain, and parted it, letting a ray of sunshine hit the unsuspecting vampire.

Adrien ceased laughing when he felt his hand burning. He hissed in pain and removed it from its place on the desk, glaring at Nino while he put the curtain back.

"Asshole," he growled, watching as his hand slowly started to heal.

"You kind of deserve it for putting me through this shit. You're lucky I made some friends today."

Adrien had another snarky retort ready to fire, but held it back. He didn't want to get burned again.

"Oh? And who are your friends?"

"Aside from Marinette, there's Alya, Kim, and Max."

The Prince perked up at hearing the name 'Alya', he remembered that was the name of Marinette's best friend. As for Kim and Max, he had no idea who they were.

"I'm guessing they were nice?"

Nino nodded. "Yeah, they were. The four of us went to lunch and hung out. It was pretty fun, actually."

Adrien frowned, wishing more than ever that he was human, or at least a werewolf. That way, he could go to school like any other normal person. Free to pursue Marinette, free to make friends, free to walk in the sunlight.

It would also be nice to be able to drink something other than blood. He tasted tea, coffee, and milk before, but had to regurgitate them since vampires are only built to sustain blood as a life source. Any other food source just sits in the stomach, useless and becomes sloshed around when moved.

"So, you gonna visit her again, tonight?" Nino asked, distracting Adrien from his mental torment.

The thought of visiting his princess brought about a pleased grin.

"What do you think?"

...

Marinette smiled when she heard the tapping on the trapdoor. She somehow had a feeling she was going to get used to hearing the sound.

Casting one last glance back to the warm croissants waiting on her desk, she walked up the staircase to let him inside. The feline man dropped down on all fours and gave her a roguish grin.

"Happy to see me, Princess?"

Her smile turned coy as she raised an eyebrow. "Yes. I need to hear my daily dose of compliments," she joked.

His lips quirked up into a smirk. "Of course. Marinette, the moon and all the stars in the galaxies can't compare to your beauty," he professed.

She giggled and rolled her eyes. "That was so cheesy."

He shrugged, still with that grin on his face. " _Purr_ haps. So, how was you day? Anything exciting happen?" He inquired innocently enough to not arouse suspicion.

Marinette turned and walked down the staircase while simultaneously answering him. He followed after her, listening to her every word.

"Not really. We have a new student in my class, he's a pretty nice guy."

Chat's lips curled into a playful smirk while the girl sat down on her chaise, eyes directed on him as he stood before her. She forced herself to remain staring into his irises, as opposed to the way his mouth was quirked up. It caused a weird feeling to occur in her stomach.

"A new guy, hm? Should I be jealous?"

Marinette chuckled and shook her head. "No, he's just a friend. _Although_..." she stopped, her eyes glittering mischievously as she placed an index finger on her chin in thought.

Chat tilted his head, puzzled by her new tone and what it meant. "Although, what?"

"Although, I think he could be a good match for Alya," she murmured, still deep in thought.

He remembered this Alya to be Marinette's best friend. It took everything in him to not laugh out loud. The irony of his best friend possibly dating her best friend was almost too much to bear.

Although, it would be interesting. He'd have to ask Nino about her later.

"And it's kind of weird how he's in all my classes," she mused with a pensive frown. But all too quickly she shrugged with a half smile. "Oh well. Stranger things have happened."

Chat held back an amused snort. _Stranger things have happened_ , indeed. He was proof of that, for how many human girls had vampire princes trying to pursue them?

"So," she breathed. "How was your day?"

"Better now that I'm here with you," he replied smoothly, wriggling his eyebrows. Marinette only rolled her eyes in response. However, the movement allowed her to spy the plate of croissants on her desk.

Smiling, she walked over to them, happy to see that they were still warm. She picked up the plate and held it out to the surprised feline.

"Want a croissant? They're still warm," she offered.

Chat forced a smile to his face, for inside he was recoiling. He didn't want to hurt her feelings, but he really didn't want to have to bring himself to throw up the croissant later on.

"Sure, Princess! Thank you."

Oh, the things he did for love.

Smile still plastered on his face, he reached out a hand and picked up the flaky pastry. He brought it to his mouth and sunk his teeth into it, immediately tasting the buttery flavor. It was good, delicious in fact. It killed him that he couldn't digest it.

A few bites later and it was gone, down to rest in his stomach until he could go home and force it out. He fought against a shiver at the painful thought.

"Did you like it?" She chirped, cheeks dusted in a rosy hue. The way her sapphire eyes were brightened, and how her smile was so eager and wide and hopeful, made her look absolutely adorable.

He nodded with a grin. "It was amazing. Thank you."

"You're welcome," she beamed. "Want another one?"

This was going to be a long night.

...

Nino grimaced when he heard Adrien's cry as he threw up again. He stood just a few trees away from the blond prince, far enough to give him space but close enough to help if he passed out or anything.

"You okay?" The werewolf called out in concern.

"Does it sound it?!" Came the snappish reply before another hurling sound filled the night air.

Nino shuddered with a disgusted frown. "Why didn't you just not eat the croissants?"

"Because I...didn't want to hurt...her feelings!"

"This wouldn't have happened if you just told her the truth!"

"Shut up!"

Nino closed his eyes and shook his head. He didn't understand his friend's mentality. He could've easily refused the food offered to him but he took it anyway, in hope of not hurting Marinette's feelings. It couldn't have hurt her feelings that bad, right? He was worrying over nothing.

He opened his eyes when he heard shuffling footsteps on the forest floor. He turned and saw Adrien approach, looking sickly pale (even for a vampire) with extremely dark blood under his chin.

"Shit, man, you alright?!" Nino gaped in shock.

At first the blond said nothing. His green eyes were wide as he gazed at his best friend, his mouth opening briefly and his fangs poked out.

Nino swallowed nervously. "Um, dude? You there?"

Adrien shut his eyes and shook his head. "Yeah," he ground out. "Just really thirsty."

Of course, he should've known. Along with the food, Adrien had to have nearly thrown up all of his blood supply. He couldn't imagine what his friend was going through.

"Want to head out to feed?" Nino asked.

"No. I don't want any...distractions."

Right. Nino, while immortal, was still a living creature who had a heart that continously pumped blood throughout his body. It must've been hard for him to not pounce on him right then and there and sink his fangs in his neck.

Then again, if he didn't go, who would make sure that Adrien didn't snap?

"No, I'm going with you. You're too dangerous on your own," Nino refused.

"You're not coming with-"

"You don't think I noticed that look earlier? I know you wanted to drain me dry just a few minutes ago. I have to go with you to make sure you don't snap," the werewolf stated sternly, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"I have the best self control around," Adrien hissed angrily. "I'm not going to snap."

"Then why don't you want me with you so bad?"

The Prince growled and turned away from him. "Fine! Come with me. I don't give two shits!"

Nino almost snickered. Boy, someone was cranky when they were thirsty.

...

The good news was that Adrien didn't go for his neck all the way to the closest city.

The bad news was that they were just across the street from the bar, and Nino could tell Adrien was having a hard time holding himself back from just rushing in and grabbing a random person and drinking from them.

"Come on," the blond grunted as he strode forward. Nino followed, though with a concerned frown.

Adrien opened the door to the establishment, not even waiting for Nino to go inside before walking up to the first single girl he saw sitting at the bar. Nino sat a few barstools over, making sure to keep an eye on his friend.

He watched as Adrien leaned in closer to the girl with a predatory smirk, the brunette grinned back and wrapped the hand that wasn't attached to her glass around his neck.

Anything could happen now.

* * *

 **A/N: Last sentence perfectly describes America right now. Trump has a very real chance of becoming President, and I'm seriously scared as a woman of what could happen.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I said I would update Fated to Destruction first, dammit. And then Friendly Competition that is in dire need of an update. But then this happened :/**

 **Also, on Google I saw pictures of bars in France, and most of them didn't have little alleyways between the building and the next. In this story, there will be. I know it's a small detail, but I felt I should mention it.**

* * *

 **Chapter 7**

Adrien smiled invitingly at the unsuspecting victim. The poor girl thought he was interested in more than just her life-giving blood. She actually thought that he considered going back to her place so that they could participate in sexual activities together.

If he wasn't craving for blood as strongly as he was now, he might've felt bad. Instead, he was just concentrating on when the time would be right to ask her to leave with him.

As she complained about how her coffee was made wrong that morning and how she screamed at the 'stupid worker' for it, Adrien inhaled her scent.

O positive...the most common blood type. Because so many people had it, Adrien really didn't have a taste for it anymore. It tasted rather bland when passing over his tongue and going down his throat. But it would have to do for tonight.

It smelled nothing like Marinette's AB negative, which was the most rare of all blood types. That, combined with her being his Loved One, made her blood all too sweet to his nose. Just the thought of it made his fangs sore.

He remembered the first night he secretly visited her, how hard it was to not tip her head back and plunge his teeth in her neck and have the most delicious meal of his life. But with each visit he built up a tolerance to it, so that he could repress his urges fairly easily when seeing her.

He slightly shook his head to dispel the fantasy of him taking almost exactly what he wanted. If he kept up with thoughts like that, he'd end up leaving the bar and run to Marinette's to accomplish what his mind had imagined.

He needed to quench his thirst before he lost control.

The blond leaned in closer, giving her a devilish smirk and lowering his voice when he spoke.

"What do you say we get out of here, hm?" he murmured, ghosting a fingertip around the back of her hand that lay on the table.

She (he thought her name to be Roxane) blinked, seemingly surprised, but recovered quickly with an easy grin.

"Sure thing, handsome," she purred before grabbing her purse and hopping off the barstool. She made sure to swing her hips just right to catch the male's attention, yet Adrien kept his gaze glued to her face. He refused his eyes to explore any other part of her body, not that he had any desire to.

Although, he couldn't help but wonder how Marinette would look wearing the dress 'Roxane' had on: tight, short, and red. He knew she could look good in any color, but with red he felt her dark hair and fair eyes would stand out even more. And if she gave him such a coquettish grin, and walked so that she beckoned him closer with each step taken-

He clenched a fist and willed the mental image away. Now wasn't the type for fantasy-world, he needed to finally feed. He cast a glance back to Nino, silently telling him that he'll be back in a few minutes. The werewolf nodded in understanding before Adrien turned and followed after his victim.

She was waiting outside on the front stoop leading into the bar. At the sound of his approach she turned and smiled at him, her eyes glazed from the alcohol she had consumed. Adrien acted as if nothing was wrong and held out his arm like a gentleman, but not before giving her a leering grin. He still had to act that he was interested in her.

"My home's that way," she slightly slurred, pointing down the street. The vampire nodded and together they started down. But as soon as they came to the little space between the bar and the next building, he quickly pulled her inside and held her against the wall.

She looked shocked only for a moment, her mouth hung open as she stared at him in bewilderment, but she adopted a coy smile and fluttered her eyelashes.

"Eager are we, handsome?"

He forced a small smirk to play about his lips. "Very. I just couldn't hold myself back any longer."

With that said he dips his head close to her neck, her vein seeming to call out for him to pierce. He hears her breath hitch, and he immediately can tell she's expecting something far different than getting her blood sucked.

He opens his mouth, lets his canines extend, and sinks them into her neck.

At first she hisses in pain and squeezes his shoulders, but her grunts of agony very soon turn into gasps of pleasure, courtesy of the aphrodisiac chemical that Adrien injected her with through his bite.

He moaned himself, though it wasn't in the type of pleasure she was feeling. In his starved state, her blood had never tasted better, even if it was the most common blood type in the world.

With each drop of blood swallowed he felt his strength return anew. He gripped her hands tighter as they were pressed to the wall in front of him, wanting to keep her there so he could finish his meal.

What the vampire failed to register in his euphoria was how Roxane's body seemed to slacken, how her breaths came out just a bit slower, how her head briefly lolled down before gradually raising again.

"Adrien!"

At the sound of his friend's voice, Adrien's eyes snapped wide open. The sudden appearance was enough to shock him out of his feeding, his fangs popping out of her neck as he stood above her, looking at Nino as if he forgot that he was even here at all.

Honestly, he had.

Nino frowned, and by the way his voice slightly shook, he was pretty scared. "Dude, you're gonna kill her! You've had enough, let's go home."

The blond stilled, and he knew if his heart was beating, it would've stopped in fear.

Slowly, he turned to observe the girl.

By now she had passed out and was only being supported by his hold on her arms. The side of the neck that he drank from had two puncture wounds in it with blood still streaming out of them. Her skin was a shade too pale for normalcy.

He grimaced at her state. He almost killed her. He almost killed someone. He's never killed anyone, ever.

He gently eased her back down to the ground before facing Nino again. He bit his lip and raised a hand to the back of his neck, shamed green eyes failing to meet nervous hazel ones.

"I-I didn't mean to. I mean, I did, but I didn't plan on losing control like that," the blond stammered.

"I know," Nino breathed in relief. "You threw up most of the blood you had, you were practically starving. I know control would've been hard, that's why I came to check on you."

While Nino's words were meant to be comforting, Adrien felt anything but. He thought he held some of the greatest control compared to all other vampires, but with just one bout of thirst, it was reduced to nothing.

Maybe he really was a monster.

"Hey, hey," Nino interrupted sternly, walking closer to put his hands on the vampire's shoulders. "I know what you're thinking. You're not a monster or whatever, you're _Adrien Agreste_. Sure, you may be a vampire, but you're still _human_ , with thoughts and feelings. So you lost a little control once, big deal!"

Adrien's eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. "Yes it is a big deal, Nino. I _lost control_! I almost killed someone tonight! If a little thirst is all it takes, then I'm no better than the savage vampires that walk the streets at night."

"Don't start with that," Nino barked harshly. "You're not one of those savages, you actually _try_ not to hurt people. And it wasn't just 'a little thirst', you were starved!" He sighed and pressed his thumb and index finger on his nose. "Look, we can talk later. Right now we got to get her home."

Adrien grudgingly agreed. He picked up the discarded purse from the ground and rifled through it, intent on finding a wallet. Once found it he picked out her ID that confirmed her address.

Luckily, she only lived about 10 minutes away.

He bent down to pick up Roxane. As he shifted her in his arms, Nino took the chance to look at the card for its address too.

"Let's get going," Nino spoke after seeing where she lived. "I'm tired."

Although vampires hardly needed sleep, Adrien felt exhausted as well as the night's events finally caught up with him. The two men stepped out of the alley and after checking for any possible people, broke into sprints toward the girl's address.

...

It wasn't all that hard to get into Roxane's apartment. She kept her key in her purse and there was a staircase around the back of the building to get to her room. After depositing her on her bed, Adrien and Nino left the way they came and ran out of town and back to the safety of the woods.

Once deep enough in the forest, the pair chose to walk at a leisurely pace in order to relax and talk. Nino kept insisting to Adrien that he wasn't a monster, that this one time was simply a mistake. The blond only agreed with him to make him happy, since the guilt still didn't eleviate from his heart.

He just wanted to change the subject, but how? He thought for a few moments until his earlier conversation with Marinette passed through his mind, along with a promise he made to himself.

"Hey," Adrien spoke, cracking a grin. "So, you met Marinette's best friend Alya today, right? What was she like?"

Nino arched a questioning brow. "Why do you want to know?"

He shrugged, trying to look indifferent. "No reason, really. Just curious, since she's my Loved One's best friend, and _my_ best friend became friends with her."

Nino placed a hand on his heart and gave the Prince a mushy, starry-eyed look. "Aw, dude, you consider me your best friend? I'm so touched!"

Adrien grinned and rolled his eyes while shaking his head. Nino laughed at his reaction, dropping the facade.

"But seriously, what do you think of Alya?" the blond inquired, still trying to not arouse suspicion. If Nino knew what he and Marinette were thinking, the music lover would probably abandon any possible thoughts to having feelings for Alya. Adrien knew his friend would get flustered, deny anything that could happen, and avoid the girl like the Plague.

He had to tread lightly.

Meanwhile, Nino shrugged. "She seems pretty cool. She has a good taste in music..." he trailed off, indicating to Adrien that there was more to his answer yet Nino wasn't willing to disclose any more details.

"What does she look like?"

Plagg chose that moment to poke his head out from Adrien's collar. "Quit while you're ahead, kid," the kwami hissed.

Adrien let out a strangled grunt to usher Plagg to shut up and get back inside his shirt. The kwami rolled his eyes but complied with his Holder's wishes.

Nino turned back to look at Adrien, who had fallen a little behind in his distraction. His hazel eyes were narrowed in questioning. "Why do you want to know what she looks like? Aren't you just interested in Marinette?"

Green eyes enlarged in surprise, with a small bit of offense. How could Nino suggest that he was interested in another girl? Okay, he conceded that his question could be taken like that, but wasn't he obvious enough in his devotion to Marinette?

"No, I don't like her," he quickly answered, wanting to get that idea out the window. "I was just wondering...for...ah-"

How was he going to get out of this one?

Nino gave him a long, hard look, until finally the pieces seemed to click together. As the werewolf's eyebrows shot up, the vampire grimaced at being caught.

"Dude, I-I don't like Alya! I mean, yeah, she's pretty, but I've only known her for like one day!" His cheeks tinted pink. "D-Don't suggest things like that! Get it out of your head."

Adrien merely blinked, stupefied at how Nino effortlessly confirmed what the vampire had been wondering in one, flustered answer. He may not have truly liked her, given he's only known the girl for a day, but now that the seed of interest has been planted in his mind...

The Prince smirked, casting his friend a knowing look as he passed him.

"Alright, man. Whatever you say. Just don't go making catcalls now, because that's _my_ thing."

"Dude!"

...

The next day at school, Marinette could immediately tell that something was wrong with Nino. He looked relaxed, the same behavior he displayed the day before, but it ended when she and Alya had said good morning to him.

He was fine when greeting _her_ , but he couldn't even meet Alya's eyes for some reason. It was like he was afraid of her, or something. When Alya was about to open her mouth and question him about it, he shook his head and retreated to his seat.

Weird.

And disappointing. She was hoping that Nino and Alya would become a thing, but with the boy tensing and refusing to meet her gaze, it was obvious it wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

What else was weird and disappointing? The project Madame Bustier had just assigned: to make a presentation on a symbolic theme in the story they were currently reading. The entire class groaned at this new dent in their personal lives, yet their teacher took the annoyance in stride and passed out the rubrics with a smile.

When Marinette received hers, she noticed that it was due in two weeks. They were also allowed to pick project partners, a detail that had the ravenette grinning slyly at Alya, to which she replied with a snicker and a fist bump.

The aspiring designer's eyes flickered down to Nino, who didn't look like he had a partner.

She smiled when an idea came to her, something that could maybe make her one true pairing canon!

"Nino!"

At the sound of his name, the boy turned and smiled. "What's up, Marinette?"

"It looks like you don't have a partner, want to join me and Alya?" she suggested, trying to not sound like she had an ulterior motive for inviting him to their group.

Nino frowned, as his gaze settled on Alya, whose own eyes were glued to her phone.

His eyebrows furrowed as he nodded determinedly. "Sure, I'll be in your group."

"Awesome!"

Internally, Marinette squealed. This was just one step in the right direction for Nialya...or, Alno? Nalya?

She could figure out a name later.

* * *

 **A/N: Uh oh, Marinette's plotting! Should she play Kiss the Girl, or Can You Feel the Love Tonight? ;)**

 ***Based on some reviews, I felt I should clarify. This was just a joke, Marinette's not going to play either lol**

 **Next to be updated will either be Fated to Destruction or Friendly Competition.**

 **You know it. I know it. Everybody knows it.**

 **Believe me.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Marinette finally had an official ship name for Nino and Alya picked out.

DJWifi.

Nino had once expressed the desire to be a DJ one day, and Alya was always on her phone using the internet, and subsequently the wifi as well.

It was perfect! To be honest, their names didn't really mesh well together, so DJWifi was a wonderful solution, in her eyes.

When she told Chat Noir that night of her revelation, he laughed fully and loudly, only stopping when she had to press a hand against his mouth else her parents would hear him. She really didn't want to have to explain why a stranger dressed in a leather catsuit was in her room at night.

Yeah, she would rather avoid that possible confrontation.

A few muffled chuckles escaped between her fingers, prompting a stern look from her as she tried to compel him with her eyes to stop laughing.

"Come on, Chat, my parents might hear you!" she whispered a bit desperately.

He nodded once, although she could feel his lips stretch into a firm smile underneath her hand. Tentatively she withdrew it, allowing herself to see the full-fledged grin on his face.

Without a word, he brought a hand up to his lips and mimed locking them shut and throwing away the key. Marinette rolled her eyes with a quiet snort of amusement.

"Silly kitty," she chided softly.

Chat felt his otherwise lifeless stomach do a little flip at the endearing nickname. It was mildly amusing, he mentally noted, how this human girl could reduce him, a Prince of vampires, to a lovesick mess with nothing but a look beneath her lashes and a pet name.

If only his people could see him now.

She picked up tonight's rose from the chaise's side before standing and walking over to her computer, to the vase sitting beside it. Giving the flower one last quick sniff, she placed it in the vase that housed the earlier roses from his visits.

"I'm honored you keep all my roses," Chat drawled with a grin, lounging on the chaise with his arm lazily hanging over his raised leg. Marinette idly thought the pose resembled a model's.

Hm, now there was a thought. Chat as a model. Well, he was definitely handsome enough for the job, and he had the pose down. But how successful would the cat-themed outfit make him?

An involuntary giggle escaped past her lips, causing him to crinkle his eyes in confusion.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing, nothing," she dismissed, shaking her head. He didn't need to have his ego stroked any more, it was already a decent size. Although, it didn't make him obnoxious like other people she knew who had big egos. (Cough) Like Lila (Cough).

 _It's not nice to keep secrets, you know_ would've been Chat's immediate, teasing response, but when the words were at the tip of his tongue he kept his mouth clamped shut. If he said what he wanted to say, he would've been a complete hypocrite. There was no one hiding more secrets than him, at the moment.

Nino was still on him for telling her the truth. But how could he tell her that he was one of the monsters that horror movies were made of? That he was one of the creatures that people were afraid of for thousands of years, and for good reason? That she was made of the stuff that kept him alive?

She would be terrified. However, maybe with more time between them, she wouldn't be afraid for when the truth finally came out. Maybe, just maybe, she would accept him for who he was, fangs and all.

So, he conceded to just say 'whatever you say, Princess' and scoot over on the chaise to give Marinette room to lie down beside him. She rested her head on his shoulder, inducing him to lift up his arm and pull her in so she was nestled comfortably against his side.

Against his better judgement, he allowed himself to inhale her delicious scent.

Her rare blood type infused with her natural vanilla, sugar, and honey aroma screamed at his vampiristic instincts to drink. His hold on her arm tightened as he closed his eyes to better concentrate on restraining himself.

"Chat?" her quiet voice arose, distracting him. "Are you okay?"

Immediately he loosened his grip on her arm and opened his eyes. In the next second he was looking down at her and flashing her a carefree smile.

"Never better, Princess," he reassured before reclining his head back in relaxation.

"Whatever you say," she replied, repeating his words from earlier prior to returning her head against his side again and closing her eyes.

Truly he was never better. He had his beautiful Loved One pressed against him, and that was all he needed.

 _She wouldn't be like this if she knew what you_ _ **really**_ _were,_ a voice in the back of his mind cruelly mocked. _You almost killed Roxane, what's stopping Marinette from ending up the same way?_

No. He wouldn't do that to her, he couldn't. He didn't have the ability to kill her, he loved her too much. Even if she had the most alluring blood he ever smelled, he could never kill her.

Right?

 _Imagine, murdering your own Loved One in cold, albeit delectable, blood. Can you imagine how that would feel?_

His mind was all too quick to conjure up the horrible image: Marinette, pale and lifeless, dangling from his arms as her blood poured from the puncture marks on her neck, and down the milky column of her throat. His eyes: a bright, acidic green as his mouth and chin were covered by her vital fluid as he bent over her, prepared to finish off the meal.

A horrified gasp tore out of his throat before he could prevent it as he sat up, trying to wipe the terrible image from his mind. His gaze whipped down to Marinette, who was now looking at him in alarmed concern.

"Chat? What's wrong?" she demanded innocently.

"N-Nothing," he stammered, already moving to get out of the chaise. He held his arms to his chest, visibly closing himself off. "Nothing's wrong. I-I have to go."

He had to get away, he had to prevent himself from doing the unthinkable.

"But why?" she asked, not understanding of the inner turmoil he was going through. "Seriously, Chat, what's wrong? You can tell me."

"I can't," he bit out, moving toward the ladder that would lead to the trapdoor and to her safety. "I'm sorry, Marinette. But I can't tell you."

"Hey!" she protested, getting up out of the chaise to chase after him. What happened to make him leave so suddenly? Did she do something to frighten him away? Did she smell bad? But she showered before he came here…

"Good night," he bid, poking his head out the trapdoor, just as she reached her bed.

She would've shouted for him to come back, but she knew that he was already gone and wouldn't be able to hear it.

It was probably nothing, she tried to assure herself. He probably just forgot about something at home, it happens sometimes.

But the irrational part of her mind battled that conclusion.

 _He ran because he realized what a plain girl you really are. He probably couldn't stop thinking of Lila the whole time he was here and finally couldn't take it anymore. He's probably on her way to her house right now._

No, he wouldn't! Not after all the roses, or the sweet words. He couldn't just turn off his feelings for her so suddenly, right?

 _He'll come back,_ she mentally encouraged. _Something was bothering him, but he'll come back._

Her hopes dwindled after three nights without a visit, with not even a rose in her room in the mornings.

…

"You need to get over yourself and see her again," Nino snapped, standing over his hunched-over friend sitting on the bed. "It's been three days! She doesn't say it, but I can tell she misses you."

It was obvious during school. The human girl had been melancholy the rest of the week. She tried painting smiles on her face at the appropriate times, yet when she saw no one was looking it would revert back to the subdued frown. Alya noticed, but not even the coaxing of her best friend was enough to rouse her from her depressed state.

Adrien lifted his tired, tortured eyes to the werewolf, who looked less than sympathetic.

"I can't. I'll kill her."

"Oh my God, you're not going to kill her!" Nino shouted, exasperated by this stupidly dramatic vampire. "You'll only kill her if you want to. Do you want to?"

"Of course not!"

"Then you won't!"

"What if I lose control like with Roxane?"

"You can't let one mistake take over your life," Nino hissed, not even bothering to correct himself on that Adrien technically didn't have a 'life'.

Normally, the blond would rise to the occasion for a pun, but his eyes only narrowed in anger.

"Marinette wouldn't survive if I made a 'mistake,' Nino. One mistake is all it takes for her to die. I never should've done this in the first place. I should've left her alone, let her live without even knowing I exist."

"Yeah, and listen to you moan and whine at how you're hopelessly in love with this girl but can never actually be with her? Not even camembert could tempt me to stay and listen to that," Plagg griped from his perch on the computer. His tail was twitching in annoyance as he regarded his stricken holder.

"You're not a killer, Adrien," he reminded in a softer tone, a stark difference from his normally sarcastic and scornful attitude. "You won't hurt her. Nino's right, you can't let this one mishap affect you like this. You'll regret it when you live on in solitude while she moves on without you."

"And Plagg's right," Nino added when Adrien didn't say anything. "If you distance yourself, Marinette's only going to move on with her life. She'll eventually find another guy and marry him instead of you. He'll swear to her that he'll _never_ abandon her, not like that _one guy_ did."

Adrien glared at the kwami first, then settled his harsh stare on Nino, who hardly looked fazed.

"You play dirty," he growled.

"And you'll think to yourself how you could've been happy," Nino went on, disregarding his friend's accusation. "What if I didn't leave her? What if I didn't brood on that one, small mistake that didn't even end with death? What if I didn't let my worry and nerves stop me?"

He gave him a flat look.

"You'll be thinking of these questions, and probably more, for the rest of eternity. Always thinking of the 'what if's' that could've been avoided if you just listened to me and Plagg."

The Prince gazed down at the floor, the angry glare wiped off his face and replaced with a conflicted look.

Could they be right? Maybe he wouldn't hurt Marinette, since he was against the idea. He didn't even kill Roxane, she was most likely perfectly fine after her body had a chance to make new blood to replace the lost. When he was full he had great control, and he knew his control around Marinette was getting better and better with each visit.

Perhaps he really could be with her, without her being in danger of him.

"Alright," he surrendered with a sigh, looking back up with a small grin tugging the corners of his lips up. "I'll visit her tonight."

"Good," Nino answered with a smug smirk. "But before you do that, you need to do my part of the project work. Have fun!" he sang, walking to the door and sparing the stunned vampire a wave before leaving the room.

Adrien scoffed a laugh as he shook his head, already rising to get to Nino's backpack where he knew the books and papers he needed were. Hopefully this wouldn't take him too long.

…

"Alya, are you sure about this?" Marinette asked uneasily as she looked at the neon pink sign highlighting the name of the nightclub.

 _Délire_

Just the name of it made an uncomfortable feeling fester in her stomach. She wasn't the club or partying-type, she was too clumsy and awkward for that kind of lifestyle. She preferred to design and sew. That was safer, and less attention-inducing.

"Of course I'm sure," Alya affirmed with an eager grin. "Now let's go in!"

Her best friend had noticed her semi-depressed attitude for the last few days, and so developed the brilliant idea of going to a nightclub to let loose and have fun. According to the budding journalist, the place didn't ask for ID's, and so they would probably be let in fairly easily.

Marinette at first refused, but after relentless pleading from Alya, she relented. Because maybe she did need some fun, to do something spontaneous in her life.

And so, she told her parents that she was going over to Alya's for a sleepover. They granted her permission, and the girls ran there to go get ready for the night out.

Her friend had practically forced her into a tight, light blue dress that clung to her curves and ended at her mid-thigh. It was tank top style, with a black, carved mesh embellishment and the dress itself developing into a sweetheart design on top of her breasts. The hem of it had little flower designs cut out, resulting in a pretty, but club-worthy dress.

Alya's dress had ended in the same length, only hers was dark purple and had black, lacy sleeves going down to her wrists. Her chest was covered by the satin material, then split into more of the lacy design, until finally the bottom half starting at her hips was the purple material again.

The girls walked to the back of the line, content to wait their turn to get to the front, when they heard a shrill whistle. Their heads bobbed up at the same time, allowing them to see the bouncer who was waving them up front.

Marinette's mind immediately went to panic mode. Did they look so young that he knew they were underage at first glance? They were both 17, they only needed one more year to get in. One year wouldn't make much of a difference, right? What if he calls the police on them? How would she explain to her parents that she got arrested? She would never get into fashion school, she wouldn't be able to make her own clothing line. Nobody would want clothes from a jail bird.

She blinked to let her eyes adjust to the darkness when she realized that she was inside the club. The music blared loud in her ears, and she could already feel the heat and sweat in the room coming from the dancing crowd.

She looked down to her arm where Alya had clasped it. Apparently in her internal hysteria, her friend had took her arm and dragged her along, straight past the bouncer and right into the establishment.

"Relax, you're so tense," Alya laughed, letting go of her hold on her. "Come on, let's have some fun."

Marinette barely had time to get a word out before she grabbed her hand and pulled her to the bar. As soon as the bartender glanced in their direction Alya waved to get his attention.

"What can I get you ladies?" he asked with a grin. He didn't look to be any older than 30.

"We'll have two blueberry basil margaritas," Alya ordered confidently, leaning her elbow on the counter. He at first raised an amused brow, then went to make the drinks. Marinette at first questioned on how Alya could order something so specific and without fear like she did it a hundred times before, but then remembered that her best friend pretty much didn't have any fear.

And that she probably looked up recipes online and practiced what she was going to say prior to coming here.

After they got their drinks, Alya made quick work of hers, while Marinette took a few sips here and there. She cautioned her friend not to drink so fast, so that she wouldn't get drunk, but the auburn-haired girl dismissed her concerns, instead telling her to hurry so they could dance.

"You can go without me, I'll be fine," Marinette offered, tracing the rim of the glass with her finger.

"No way. We came here together, so we should dance together," Alya insisted, crossing her arms in front of her chest as she glared down at her best friend.

"Seriously, go on without me," the aspiring designer prodded, even making a shooing motion with her free hand that wasn't holding the glass. "You know I have two left feet anyway. Go and have some fun, I'll be okay." She allowed a small smile to grace her features to hopefully convince her.

Alya gave her a skeptical look before shaking her head.

"Alright, if you insist. Be careful, okay? Don't let any creeps hit on you." She winked, then immediately scampered off to the dance floor.

Marinette in turn hopped on top of the barstool, happy to just sit on the sidelines and enjoy her rather fruity drink.

"Not your scene, huh?" a voice suddenly spoke.

She whipped her head up to see the bartender a few feet from her, leaning both of his elbows on the counter as he regarded her with a half-smile.

A sigh of amusement left her nose as she matched his expression.

"Is it that obvious?"

"Well, being that you're the only girl not dancing, it kind of is," he replied teasingly. He held out his hand. "Name's Mathys."

"Marinette," she returned, reaching out to shake his hand.

"So, let me guess, your friend dragged you here?" he asked after she brought her hand back.

"Kind of," she giggled. "I agreed, for her, but still."

"Yeah, I get it," he sympathized, nodding. "I see it all the time. You know what's funny, though? Usually the girls who didn't want to have anything to do with this place end up having the most fun."

She laughed, almost choking on her drink in the process. She grabbed a napkin to dab her lips before speaking.

"Well I can assure you I won't be one of them. You won't see me up there, 'dancing the night away'."

"Why not?" Mathys questioned as he cocked his head to one side, letting her better see the vivid blue eyes staring at her.

She shrugged her shoulders, looking down bashfully at the counter. "I'm really clumsy, I'd probably trip on someone or myself."

"I bet you could dance if you really wanted to," he encouraged, giving her a determined smile.

Marinette laughed once more, the mental image of her dancing and hypnotizing the crowd was too ridiculous to not laugh at.

"Thanks, but I don't think it's going to happen."

"Suit yourself," he surrendered, shrugging. "Hey, want a refill?"

She blinked in confusion, until she glanced down to her glass to find that it was empty. Her insides already felt warm and a bit buzzy from the alcohol. She knew what her response should be.

"No thanks, I've had enough for one night."

"Suit yourself," he repeated with a smirk as he took her glass away. "So, since you're not drinking, and you don't want to dance, what are you going to do?"

"I don't know," she replied honestly.

"Do you want to step outside together? Get a breath of fresh air and think?" he offered, raising his eyebrows innocently.

"But don't you have to make the drinks?" she pointed out, concerned for his job.

"Nah, they'll be okay if I'm gone for a couple minutes," he answered, already making his way out from behind the counter. "Don't worry, I'll still have a job," he chuckled.

Marinette looked behind her, trying to find Alya in the throng of bodies but with no success. She wouldn't be worried if she was gone for a few minutes, right? She wouldn't even know.

Besides, a breath of fresh air did sound wonderful since she was beginning to sweat.

"Okay," she decided, standing up and walking behind him toward the entrance. Together they exited the club, walking past the bouncer who let them pass without any problems. As soon as they were a good few feet away from the front, just barely out of sight of the line of people still waiting to get in, Marinette breathed in a large breath of the warm, night air.

"This was a good idea," she commented, staring up into the night sky. "Thanks, Math…ys…"

She had turned to look at him, but became perplexed by the weird smirk he had on his face. It was the kind of look one had when they were about to devour their favorite food. It was purely predatory.

She took a step back toward the club, feeling more unnerved by the minute. "Uh, I'm just going to go back-"

However, that was all she got out, for Mathys grabbed her arm and pulled her into the alley they were standing next to. Alarmed, she opened her mouth to scream but was stopped by his hand clamping over her mouth.

Not willing to back down, she began to squirm, using her hands to try and push him away but the man didn't even budge. He didn't look all that strong, yet he held her there like he had the strength of ten men.

She tried once more to break free, even biting down on his hand, but when he didn't even so much as wince in pain she stopped, now becoming seriously confused. Was he impervious to pain somehow?

Mathys smirked smugly down at her. "Are you done, yet?"

Since she couldn't fire back a sassy retort, she settled for narrowing her eyes into the fiercest glare she could muster.

"Good," he said, then did something else to weird her out further.

He bent his head in the crook of her neck and deeply inhaled her scent.

"I smelled you when you first walked in that door," he murmured lowly, as if in a dream-like state.

She paused in her frantic thoughts to somehow get free. Smell her as soon as she walked in the door? Was it possible to have a sense of smell that good?

"You smell divine," he continued, burying his cool nose in her neck to breathe in her scent once more. "I'm surprised nobody snatched you up, yet. Oh well, more for me."

…Just what in the hell was he talking about?

"Even bartenders get thirsty," he remarked, finally pulling back and smiling. Her eyes widened when she laid eyes on the fangs that protruded out from his upper lip.

Fangs? What was he, some kind of vampire or something?!

"Mind if I have a drink?" he crooned softly, going to her neck again.

Holy shit he was a vampire. But they didn't exist! They were only real in books and movies, not in real life!

Figures she would be bitten by a creature that no one else thought existed. Just her luck.

"Don't worry, this will only pinch for a minute," he warned. She stilled, didn't even breathe when she felt the brush of his teeth against the soft skin of her neck.

She closed her eyes, bracing for the incoming pain.

However, it never came.

Her eyes flew open when she felt his body ripped off of her, just before his fangs could pierce her skin. Her jaw hung open as she took in Chat Noir, who had Mathys up against the wall by his neck.

She heard a low, angry hiss erupt from her savior's throat. It sounded like an agitated animal, or like a cat. She trembled from her place against the wall, too shocked to move from all that had happened to her thus far.

"Y-Your Highness?!" The bartender gasped, eyes almost bugging out in his head in fear.

Wait.

Your Highness? What was that about?

"You dare attack _my_ Loved One?" Chat growled, baring his teeth in Mathys's face. His eyes burned even brighter in his fury.

On second thought, now that she had a good look, Chat's teeth also appeared rather pointy.

And what's a Loved One? Furthermore, what did it have to do with her?

The vampire seemed to pale further, if that was even possible.

"I'm so sorry, Your Highness," he blubbered, looking utterly petrified. It was a large difference from his earlier behavior. "I didn't know she was your Loved One, I swear I didn't!" he cried out, his hands reaching up to try to pry Chat's hand off.

But the feline wasn't having it, not at all. Instead, he took both of Mathys's wrists in his free hand, squeezing until Marinette could hear the sound of bones crunching.

She cringed as a sickly feeling arose in her stomach, the feeling doubling when Mathys's screams of agony reached her ears.

"Give me one good reason why I should let you live," the blond hissed darkly, letting go of the now broken wrists. "Why I shouldn't just rip your head clean off?"

Rip his head off?!

Her world swayed at the horrifying mental image her brain so kindly bestowed on her, resulting in a disgusted grunt escaping past her mouth. She held her stomach to prevent her dinner from making an encore all over the ground.

Mathys stayed silent, knowing he didn't really have a good reason. He attacked the Crown Prince's Loved One, he knew there was going to be a fatal consequence for it.

Adrien wasn't known for having a violent nature; he was a calm and rational vampire who was hardly ever threatening in any way. This was the first time he was seeing the Prince's rage.

He never would have guessed that such a quiet vampire could be so frightening.

Also, with perhaps the person someone cared about most involved, it would probably make anyone lose their temper.

Chat could barely control his rage as he glared into the vampire's wide blue eyes. He tightened his grip on his neck, just ready to destroy this bastard, when a muffled, guttural noise reached his ears.

He turned around, seeing Marinette holding her stomach, until she noticed that he was looking at her. Her eyes became wide with fear in those heavenly depths, her mouth partially open as she retreated further into the brick wall. He could hear her accelerated heartbeat along with her quickened breaths.

His hold slackened as his temper started to cool down.

He was scaring her. Protecting her was his main priority, and not frightening her had to be the second. He was supposed to make her feel safe, but her eyes spoke volumes of her changed opinion of him right then.

Reluctantly, he released the vampire, although not bothering to help him as he staggered on his feet.

"Get out," he growled. The only warning he would get.

The bartender didn't need to be told twice, running away from the scene in seconds.

Chat didn't move as he stared at the still girl, afraid that the smallest step toward her would set her off. She copied his decision, both of them equally silent as they regarded one another. Him with concern, and her with caution.

"What _are_ you?!" Marinette questioned at last, her sapphire eyes turning hard. " _Who_ are you? What was he? Was he a vampire? Are you one, too?!"

He grimaced at her questions. He really didn't want her to find out like this, when it was still too early and she would undoubtedly be afraid of him.

But he had to answer her truthfully. If he lied now he knew there would be hell to pay later. She told him once that she couldn't stand liars, and he had vowed that he would be the one to never lie to her.

He took a breath before letting it out, the action helping to calm him.

"My real name is Adrien Agreste. And I'm the Crown Prince of Vampires of France."

* * *

 **A/N: So that just happened :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Me: I just updated this story, I should work on my other ones instead!**

 **Me to Me: Update it anyway.**

* * *

 **Chapter 9**

The breath left her lungs as her jaw became slack in her shock. She couldn't move, couldn't breathe. She felt entirely numb.

It couldn't be true. It couldn't be.

And there was no way she became involved with their freaking Prince!

"No," she gasped, blinking back the betrayed tears. Her head slowly moved back and forth in denial. "Y-You're lying! You're lying!"

He winced as if she stabbed him in the heart. To him, it felt like she did. He knew this would happen, he knew it! He knew she would think of him as nothing but a monster.

"I'm not lying," he murmured solemnly, ripping his pained eyes away from her. He couldn't bring himself to look at the fear in those ocean blue orbs, fear caused by him. "I'm really a vampire."

Marinette stood utterly still, with her back and hands still pressed against the wall behind her for support. Because she knew that if the wall wasn't there, then her knees would've given out.

"But that can't be true! Vampires don't exist!"

Yes, she remembered all that had happened with Mathys, nearly being bitten by him, but it was still hard to process that the frightening creatures regularly seen in horror movies and books were in fact real, and not completely made up like she thought.

Adrien, who still stood in his Chat costume, chuckled. It was a dark, hollow sound as he met her gaze once again. His eyes lacked the usual cheeky twinkle she always saw during his visits.

"Oh, we exist alright, _Princess_. See?"

For proof, he opened his mouth wide. She paused, not seeing anything out of the ordinary, until his incisors began to gradually grow and sharpen. A new wave of dread rushed through her and she tried backing herself further into the wall.

Unconsciously, she raised a hand to her throat. Her perfectly intact, bite-free throat. Was he going to kill her now that she knew about him?

He closed his mouth and flashed her a sardonic grin.

"I'm not going to bite you, if that's what you're scared of."

Wait. Huh? But he-

"But you're a vampire," she pointed out confusedly. "Don't you drink blood?"

"I do," he admitted. "But I would never hurt you. Although, that doesn't matter now, does it? Because I'm just nothing but a monster in your eyes, right?" He dropped the pretense of the false smile as he looked off to the side, aiming a bitter glare to the darkened alley.

Marinette faltered as she took in his slightly hunched shoulders and his clearly hurt eyes.

A vampire was he? Yes, and it did scare her, to be honest.

But a monster? No. Mathys, who forced her against the wall and tried drinking her blood against her will, she would label a monster. But Adrien? The boy who regularly brought her roses, told bad puns, complimented her and looked at her like she was his world?

No.

"You're not a monster," she declared softly, starting to lean away from the brick barrier, closer to him.

He slowly turned his stare to her. Her heart broke when she could see how disbelief and hope danced in his eyes, both emotions fighting for dominance.

"But you're scared of me," he contradicted, turning away from her again.

"Kind of, if I'm being honest," she admitted. His shoulders slumped at her answer, yet he made no move to speak. Holding in a breath, she gathered her courage and took the few steps she needed to reach him.

He flinched when she rested a comforting hand on his shoulder. His head whipped to her so fast in surprise that if he were human he would've gotten whiplash.

"But you have never hurt me," she reminded him gently, a corner of her mouth lifting. "And maybe if you teach me about you, and maybe with more time together, I can be more comfortable. Come on," she started to lightly joke. "If you were in my position wouldn't you be a little cautious too? I mean, I'm like a living blood bank."

She let out a few giggles, and finally since she saw him this evening, he genuinely smiled.

"Just," she continued, her smile falling to give way to an uneasy frown. Internally she regretted it, but she needed to settle something. "You just can't…like, go crazy…"

One mental image of him about to viciously attack her was enough to send a shiver down her spine. But he would never do that to her, he said he wouldn't. Right?

"You mean like randomly snap? To pin you down and drink until my dead heart's content?" he quipped, shooting her an almost scornful grin. She grimaced at the way he described it, yet nodded nonetheless.

"It's possible," he divulged with a sigh, raising his arm to the back of his neck.

Was he nervous?

"But it's highly unlikely. I make sure that I'm full before going to see you, and I've also developed a better sense of control around you." He fixed her with that burning, mesmerizing gaze she had only seen a handful of times.

And like those times, it never failed to send a burst of heat straight to her stomach.

"We shouldn't talk here," he decided, effectively breaking the entranced spell he had on her. He rotated his head around to observe their dark surroundings. "You should be home. I-" he paused, his nerves returning. "Will you trust me to return you home safely?"

Well, he didn't make any move on her so far. If he wanted to kill her, he probably would've done so by now. She was still unsettled by the fact he was a _vampire_ , but he said so himself his control had gotten better around her.

Besides, she was the one who suggested that with more time together, she could get more comfortable around him.

Marinette nodded, allowing a tiny smile to grace her features. "Yes. I-" she stopped when she realized something crucial about tonight, the memory making her gasp. "Oh my God, Alya! I came here tonight with her!"

It was likely she didn't notice she was gone, since she didn't come outside looking for her, but she couldn't leave without her!

Adrien wordlessly grabbed his cell phone from his back pocket. Huh, she didn't even know he had one.

He tapped on the screen a few times before bringing it to his ear, a sly smirk stretching his lips all the while.

"Hey, Nino? Yeah, can you come down to _Délire_ and pick up Alya?"

…

"Yes, I mean Marinette's friend Alya."

…

"Because I'm taking Marinette home. I'll explain later on tonight."

…

"Thanks, I owe you one."

…

He rolled his eyes.

"No, I am not letting you ride the dumbwaiter for payment."

…

He directed his mildly amused gaze to the sky once more.

" _No_ , you cannot DJ at the next Meeting of Nations, either."

…

" _Good-bye_ , Nino."

He promptly hung up after that, pocketing the phone again before he returned his attention to her.

"He'll be here in a few minutes. Nino will take her home."

Wait a minute…

"Nino?" she questioned, lifting an eyebrow. "He wouldn't be-"

"My best friend who also goes to your school? Yes, he is," he informed her brightly, stepping closer to her. As she gaped at him in surprise, he took the moment to gently ease her into his arms so he was carrying her bridal style.

"We can talk more at your house," he assured before jumping high into the air and onto a rooftop.

Marinette's eyes were blown wide by the incredible feat she just witnessed, not to mention all the breath she held in her lungs was gone. Her head wildly looked toward the ground, to her carrier, to the ground, then back to him again.

He smirked, as though smug. "Something wrong?"

"You just jumped!" she exclaimed, still having a hard time believing it. She waved her hands around in her frenzy of astonishment. "No one can make a jump like that!"

"No _human_ can," he corrected her, still wearing that mischievous smirk. "But for a vampire, it's like second nature. We're also pretty fast too!"

She opened her mouth to question him, but she was silenced by the sudden rush of air by him breaking out into a speeding run. She let out a soundless scream, her stomach continuously jumping as he quickly leapt over rooftops. Not caring that she might look like a coward, she turned to his chest and buried her head in the cool, leathery material.

And then, just as fast as it started, it ended.

"You're home, Princess," a warm, soothing voice whispered in her ear. Fighting down the strange tingle in her stomach, she opened her eyes and peered up, meeting Adrien's lidded eyes and even stranger smile. His head was slightly tilted as he regarded her, his stare in her eyes unflinching.

"What is it?" she wondered, feeling self-conscious.

"Nothing," he replied lightly, helping her back to her feet. "Nothing at all."

Marinette squinted her eyes in suspicion, but shrugged it off for now. "So you can jump really high and run really fast. What else can you do?"

He eyed her up and down for a moment, but not in a leering way. Actually, he seemed somewhat amused.

"Do you really want to have this discussion in that outfit? Don't get me wrong, it looks wonderful on you, but this might take a while. I'd imagine you would want to be comfortable."

She blinked, having nearly forgotten about her choice of clothing for the night.

"Oh, uh-yeah! Thanks. I'll just, get changed now," she answered awkwardly, before she scowled at him threateningly, even pointing a finger at him.

"And don't you dare try to peek."

"I hoped you would have more faith in me than that, Princess. Haven't I already proven myself to be a gentleman? But since you insist, I'll indulge you anyway. I promise I will not peek," he vowed, placing his left hand over his heart and raising his right in the air. "Cat's honor," he finished cheekily with a wink.

She grinned and rolled her eyes as she descended down the trapdoor and into her room. Honestly, she had to give him credit. The dress she wore was pretty revealing, however he kept his eyes directed on hers the entire time.

How many men could she say would do that?

A few minutes later, when she was clad in her pajamas, she reached out to the trapdoor and opened it again. She found him a few feet away with his back to her and his arms crossed, staring out into the night.

"Adrien?" she called softly, the sound of her voice bringing him to turn around. "You can come in now."

He swiftly walked over to her and jumped through the trapdoor once she was out of the way, landing on the bed on his butt. They situated themselves to be seated across from each other, sitting Indian-style.

"You know my real name, but not what I really look like," he pointed out, half-smiling. "I suppose the first thing we should do is fix that."

She watched, mouth parted in curiosity and shock, as a green light engulfed him. The ring of green went up his body, revealing jeans, a t-shirt, and neatly styled hair minus the cat ears. His eyelids fluttered open, unveiling two humanized, shining emerald orbs. She had to admit, she was almost beginning to think the cat eyes were natural for him.

While she did like his old eyes, she found herself unable to look away from these new ones. They were as bright and sparkling as a gem, somehow human but not at the same time. She had never seen eyes like his before, none so dazzling or such a pure green.

"I think you broke her," a sarcastic voice mused, followed by a devious snicker.

Marinette looked to Adrien's shoulder at the same time he rolled his eyes, to see a small, cat-looking black…thing.

"What's that?" she asked, pointing at it.

At the same time Adrien opened his mouth, the black blob spoke.

"Name's Plagg. I'm a kwami, nice to meet you," he introduced, waving his arm as though he was bored. "Now, got anything to eat? I'm _starving_!"

"Plagg!" Adrien scolded, plucking the kwami off his shoulder and holding him in front of his face. "Be polite."

While Marinette watched on in a mixture of amusement and intrigue, Plagg sighed and fazed out of his captor's hand to hover in front of her own face.

"Sorry," he apologized, rolling his eyes. "Can I _please_ have something to eat? Like maybe some camembert?"

She giggled at the same time Adrien let out an exasperated groan.

"You can find the camembert in the refrigerator downstairs. But only take one wheel, otherwise my parents might notice."

" _Only_ one wheel, Plagg," Adrien reminded, shooting the kwami a threatening look.

"I heard her the first time," Plagg grumbled, turning to him.

"Well I know how much of a glutton you are. This isn't home, where you can have all the cheese you want. I don't want Marinette to get in trouble because of you."

"Okay, okay, sheesh. I'll only have a wheel, kwami's honor."

With that last sarcastic remark, Plagg flew out of her face, down below and presumably through the trapdoor to get the cheese he desired. Adrien sighed, rubbing a hand along the back of his neck.

"Sorry about him. I've been trying to teach him better manners but-"

She cut him off with an amused giggle.

"It's fine, he's actually kind of cute. So, I'm guessing Plagg is responsible for your costume change?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Remember when I told you a little of my Miraculous when we first met?"

She pursed her lips, trying to recall the memory. Suddenly, her eyes lit up with recognition.

"Oh, yeah! You said that it gives you the costume and that it protects you?"

"Yep. Only, I need both Plagg _and_ the Miraculous itself to complete the transformation." He held up his right hand; it was her first time seeing either of his hands without gloves concealing them. His fingers were kind of long and slender, like a pianist's.

"My ring is my Miraculous." He tapped the silver band with a finger. "When I transform, it protects me from the sunlight."

"Wait," she spoke, halting him with her hands raised in the air in the universal 'stop' sign. "So that's true? That vampires burn in the sunlight?"

"Unfortunately," he admitted with a frown. "It's amazing that for all the strengths we possess, something virtually harmless for humans is our downfall." A chuckle escaped past his lips. "And I can barely even wear the suit out in public in the sunlight, it's not exactly a common item to wear."

Marinette couldn't help but feel sorry for him in that moment. She couldn't imagine not being able to see the sunlight every day. Something that was always there just ripped away from her? And only being subjected to the nighttime? It sounded miserable.

Well, she knew now that she wasn't going to take advantage of it anymore.

"I'm sorry," she said, trying to sympathize with him. "That must be horrible."

Adrien shrugged. "Nah, it's really not that bad. I mean, you humans have so many weaknesses, I really shouldn't be complaining over one."

"So, you're indestructible?" she deduced.

"Not at all," he replied, a corner of his mouth quirking up. "We're extremely durable, but not indestructible."

She tilted her head, not understanding due to one trait she always assumed all 'mythological' vampires held.

"But I thought vampires were immortal?"

"We are…just as long as nothing kills us."

"What can kill you, then?" She didn't mean to sound so morbid, but she couldn't help but be curious. If he was 'extremely durable' as he said, then what would it possibly take to kill him?

The vampire before her smirked. "Careful, Princess. I might think you're plotting against me."

She slowly matched his expression, not able to resist the bait.

"Maybe I am. I mean, you _are_ a vampire, after all. That makes you dangerous."

He dramatically gasped and placed a hand over his heart, looking at her with such comical offense it almost made her laugh.

"I save your life and you want to kill me anyway?" He suddenly flung an arm over his forehead, effectively looking like a distressed character from a soap opera or something. She couldn't contain her laughter this time, her giggles escaping past her fingers that were pressed to her mouth.

"Oh, what a cruel fate. But I suppose if I have to die by anyone's hands, I would rather it be by the fair Princess's."

He shifted closer to her, bearing his chest to her as if he was sacrificing himself.

"Just please let it be quick, is all I humbly ask."

Marinette snorted, using her finger to push on his chest, effectively making him sit down like normal again. "You silly cat."

Adrien grinned, dropping the façade. " _Your_ silly cat."

He secretly delighted in the little blush that adorned her cheeks. However, it very quickly vanished after she took a breath and shook her head.

She thought about asking him her question again after they had gotten off-topic, but now she felt that she didn't want to know. She didn't want to know of the undoubtedly violent things a vampire had to go through to be killed.

Maybe it was better to be oblivious, in this case.

Instead, another question came to her, drawing out a smirk to gradually curl her lips upward.

Her eyes roamed up and down, taking in his normal attire. "You said you're a prince. No offense, but you hardly look the part."

After all, princes were dressed in those nice jackets, with the gold buttons and epaulettes on the shoulders. They certainly didn't dress in jeans and t-shirts, like a common, casual boy she would see on the street or in school.

He chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest. "What were you expecting? The typical costume you see in those fairy-tale movies?"

"Well, yeah! That's how all princes dress…or," she faltered, suddenly feeling very unsure and embarrassed by her conclusion. "At least, that's what I always thought," she finished, awkwardly fiddling her fingers together.

"You're not completely wrong," he conceded, shrugging one of his shoulders and smiling.

At his admission, she perked up, relieved that she didn't look like a _total_ idiot.

"I do get dressed up like that when we have an important meeting or I have to attend a ball. And don't let the movies fool you, those outfits are so uncomfortable. They're very stiff, so moving my arms is more difficult. I would've stepped down by now if I had to wear that every day," he laughed.

But Marinette was too caught up in one particular phrase: _attend a ball_.

"You get to go to balls? Like in Cinderella?" She was practically bouncing on the bed in her excitement.

So what if she was 17? She's always wanted to go to a ball like the princesses did in her childhood storybooks. Yes, she was aware she couldn't dance to save her life and had two left feet, but that still didn't deter her desire to go to one.

Adrien chuckled, thinking her beaming, almost childlike smile and joy was positively adorable.

"Yes, I do. Just like Cinderella. Although there is a lot less magic involved, and it's a lot more boring."

"How could it be boring?! It sounds so much fun!"

"The stories really glamorize it, Princess. It's more of an excuse to casually gather than anything else. Sure, there's dancing, but most of the time it's just guests mingling with each other and the leaders talking amongst themselves. And when you're a Prince, it's not that much fun."

He wasn't lying, he was always bored whenever he had to go to a ball. Whenever he wasn't standing by his father and listening to other important vampires speak, he was usually on the dance floor, getting dragged along by Lady Chloe. Sometimes Nino was able to show up and make the ordeal more bearable, but overall he still didn't want to go.

However…maybe if someone else came along…

"Hey," he spoke, distracting Marinette who was looking at the bed with a crestfallen expression on her face. Immediately he felt guilty for causing that, he probably should've been gentler when describing the dances. "Maybe one day I can take you."

She lifted an eyebrow as she regarded him with a disbelieving grin. "Attending a ball full of vampires? Are you sure that's smart?"

He scoffed and waved a hand nonchalantly. "Don't worry. They wouldn't dare attack the Crown Prince's Loved One right in front of him. That would be a mistake punishable by death."

As soon as the words were out of his mouth he froze.

He mentally swore.

He _really_ didn't want to explain the 'Loved One' situation now. It was far too early, she would probably be intimidated and want to run away.

 _Great job, Your High-ass-ness_ , Nino's voice mocked in his mind.

Meanwhile, Marinette was thankful for the reminder, but was aware of the sinking feeling in her stomach. A phrase like that wasn't hard to understand the gist of, and she was a bit nervous to find out its full meaning.

"Adrien? What's a 'Loved One'?"

* * *

 **A/N: I am** _ **so**_ **evil for leaving it here but I love it ;D**


	10. Chapter 10

**There's so much sap in this chapter you can take a bottle of it and pour it on some waffles.**

 **Happy Valentine's Day!**

* * *

 **Chapter 10**

Adrien bit his lower lip as he glanced to the side, away from her innocently curious stare. How could he answer this without sounding creepy?

Meanwhile, Marinette was waiting with parted lips and baited breath for the answer. It was obviously something important, and if _she_ was his 'Loved One'…it made her stomach do a little flip and her cheeks to momentarily heat.

If she was right on what it meant…well, she wasn't sure how she would react.

"It's," he finally replied, albeit uneasily, meeting her eyes again. His hand reached up to lightly scratch the back of his neck. "It's…well, it's a name given to someone…"

"Someone like who?" she asked quietly, patiently. But she wasn't going to let him skirt around the answer, either.

He sighed in defeat and closed his eyes as his head fell. The hand that he was previously behind his neck fell limply on his lap.

Silently, he picked his head up again. His eyes were hollow and dim, full of varying degrees of fear and void any of the cheekiness or mischief she had seen earlier. It made her worry, and wonder what could be so bad about this answer to trigger such a barrage of emotions.

"Someone that you love," he murmured, making her heart skip a beat. "It's someone that you can't imagine your life without. It's someone that makes everything worth it. It's someone that makes your eternity on Earth feel like a blessing, because you can never run out of time with them. It's someone that you think is perfect, regardless of any flaws they might see in themselves."

Her mouth was loosely open, eyes wide as she took in the passionate response. His eyes flickered down to her hands that were pressed lightly on top of her knees. Slowly, he reached forward with one of his hands.

She looked down when she saw him move, and linger just in front of her fingertips. When she gave him no refusal, he gently took her hand in his, rubbing a thumb across her knuckles.

He raised his head again, effectively trapping her with that entrancing green gaze.

"It's someone that you want to stand by forever. It's someone that is your entire world."

Adrien took a ragged breath, trying to steel his nerves for what would undoubtedly be either the final nail in his coffin (heh, vampire puns…) or what would be a new beginning for the both of them.

"It's someone that is _you_."

The soft rush of air that Marinette drew in was a gasp that even Adrien had a hard time hearing. Her cheeks were a rosy red, her eyes wide but blank. Her heart thundered in her chest so loud it sounded like she got done running a kilometer.

His hold on her hand tightened slightly in his fear that she would immediately reject him and cast him out of her life forever. It would hurt him, deeply, but if it was what she wanted, then he would comply.

Marinette, on the other hand, could barely think any coherent thoughts.

This boy, this _vampire_ , just admitted to her being his world. That he thought she was perfect, and wanted to spend eternity with her. How he thought so much of her in such a short time was beyond her, but she couldn't deny that she fell just a little bit harder for him at the admission.

However, it was impossible to feel the same for him.

For now, anyway.

She didn't spend nearly enough time with him to be able to think of him as he thought of her. She wasn't ready yet. Although, if she said this, what if he got the wrong idea and never bothered with her again? She may not have loved him, but she didn't want to let him go, either.

Good Lord, was she really thinking about having a relationship with a bloodsucking vampire?

Her eyes, that were once looking away, found his again. Those green eyes that seemed to sear into her very soul. It was bitterly ironic, how they resembled the color of springtime, yet it thrived under the only thing he couldn't touch. But they were warm, without any sunlight needed.

This was the same vampire who promised not to hurt her, the same one who left roses for her for over a month and still brought her one when he visited. The same one who joked with her, laughed with her, complimented her, boosted her confidence, treated her like a princess, and behaved like a prince (the irony of that was not lost on her).

And he was the same vampire who stopped another of his kind from drinking her blood.

To possibly consider a relationship with him could be extremely dangerous. She was either really stupid…

…or really lucky.

"Marinette?" he quietly called, worriedly as he took in her ashen appearance. "Please, say something?"

She wanted to tell him her thought process, how she came to her conclusion to try to make this work, but all that came out was:

"Why do you love me?"

It was a valid enough question, she surmised. However, it probably wasn't the right time for it.

Or was it?

It very well could be the right time, given his confession.

A corner of his mouth quirked up in a soft, fond grin. His thumb resumed its circling pattern at the top of her hand as he began to speak.

"I love you because you're so nice, even to a creature that would normally terrify anyone else and otherwise scream and run away from. I love you because you're so talented and creative, you can turn a scrap of fabric into a gown fit for royalty. And trust me, I would know."

He paused to flash her a cheeky wink, to which she snorted in amusement at.

"I love you because you're so determined. Whenever you set your mind to something you get it done, regardless of any mistakes you might make along the way. I love you because you're honest. I love you because you're witty, you always have a sassy comeback ready for me." He grinned. "I love you because you're independent. Honestly, I bet if that bartender wasn't a vampire, you would've been able to kick his ass. You don't accept defeat very easily and aren't one to back down from a fight."

Her speech was gone by the time his smile turned more affectionate than amused.

"I love you because of how you stick your tongue out whenever you work really hard on a design. I love you because you're so adorably clumsy. And I love you because of how excited you can get over the most miniscule things. I love you, Marinette, but it's okay if you don't feel the same."

She blinked incredulously, at not only his words but at the last sentence. He didn't mind if she didn't feel the same way for him as he did for her?

But his reasons of why he loved her though…he even listed things about her that she hated about herself. She hated that she had a habit of sticking out her tongue when working. It sometimes happened during school when working on assignments and Alya had playfully teased her about it. Marinette knew that she didn't mean anything by it, but it made her feel self-conscious all the same.

She hated that she was clumsy, for always having a knack to seemingly trip over the air. And she sometimes hated how she could get excited so easily. Sometimes she worried if she looked immature, and not like a 17 year old girl.

It didn't fail to escape her notice either that he had not once mentioned any sort of beauty about her. Instead he listed all of her personality traits, rather than her physical ones.

At that point, she couldn't care less that he was a creature that writers made horror stories about. Adrien was Adrien, he wasn't just a vampire. He was sweet, charming, funny, brave, and best of all, sincere. He never outright lied to her, and she could tell that his devotion to her wasn't at all fake, like so many boys nowadays acted.

But, however highly she thought of him, the fact of the matter still was that she didn't love him.

She cleared her throat after finally being prepared to answer him.

"I never had someone tell me things like that before. And…while I am flattered you feel so strongly about me…I have to say that I don't feel the same way."

His mouth formed a solemn frown as he nodded, looking down at his lap.

"I understand," he replied in a serious, melancholy tone that made her frown in return. His hand separated from hers, and already she missed the cooling yet comforting sensations he brought to her skin. "You don't have to-"

"Yet."

He stopped, peering up at her through his blond lashes in wonder. His eyes were now a swirling mixture of disbelief and hope. It was much better than the fear that was earlier displayed in them.

Marinette smiled. "Yet," she repeated. "I don't love you, _yet_. But…"

She blushed, not able to hold his yearning gaze any longer and choosing to fiddle with her fingers instead.

"But I'm willing to try. It's not possible to love someone this soon, at least in my case. Honestly, I'm wondering how you could feel so much love for me in so short a time."

Adrien chuckled almost ruefully.

"It's one of the curses of being a vampire, I suppose. When we fall in love, we fall quickly and hard. Vampire couples often get married within two weeks of their relationship."

"Two weeks?!" she exclaimed, completely caught off guard at the new information. Who only knows someone for two weeks then decides to get married? That's crazy!

Is that what Adrien wanted? To date for two weeks and then get married? If so, then there was no way that would happen. That was _way_ too soon.

Adrien laughed again. She must've had a hilarious facial reaction to his words.

"It may be considered crazy for humans, but for vampires it's totally normal. Don't worry, I don't expect a marriage two weeks from now."

Marinette let out a sigh of relief.

He chuckled, shooting her a teasing smirk.

"You do wonders to my ego, Princess."

She giggled, before her lips curled into a smirk rivalling his own.

"Well it's already large enough, it certainly doesn't need any more stroking."

"Ouch," he remarked, jokingly wincing as he held a hand over his heart. "That hurt."

The two laughed quietly for a few moments, each basking from the break from the tension of their night so far. It was nice to relax for a while and just laugh. However, Adrien couldn't let the night end without making sure of one thing.

As a result, after their snickers died down, he finally asked the question that's been plaguing his mind since his true nature was revealed.

"So, does this mean you're giving me a chance, Marinette? Like how it was before?"

She released a ragged breath, her sky blue eyes rotating to the ceiling as she let loose a shaky laugh. It was an attempt at being casual and less awkward, yet she felt she accomplished in completing the exact opposite.

"I mean," she began, meeting his eyes again. "Well, it obviously can't be just like before. Not after all that happened tonight. But yes, I do want to give you a chance. I know it's technically a risk for me, since you know…"

She trailed off, trying to find the right words. She waved her hand around in the air a little, as though trying to stimulate more brain activity to think of the correct thing to say. Ugh, why couldn't she be good with words like he could?

With no progress she decided to just mentally say 'screw it' and just be blunt.

"Since, you're a vampire, and all. But you said that your control is getting better, so it's not likely that you'll…ah…attack me. Right?"

Adrien nodded. "Right," he replied with such conviction that she immediately believed him. "You're right, there _is_ always technically the risk, but I promise you I'll maintain my control around you. I swear to you that I won't hurt you."

Her heart fluttered at the vow, while at the same time she couldn't help but be curious.

"Is it really that hard?" she asked unsurely, afraid of accidently offending him or something. It wouldn't be the first time she made a social blunder. "I mean, to maintain control?"

His lips slowly curled into a sinfully wicked grin at the same time his eyes flashed with a devious glint. She gulped with wide eyes as he began to shift to all-fours before leaning closer to her face. He stopped when their faces were just a few centimeters away from each other. When she breathed she could smell his intoxicating scent of birch and patchouli, a scent that made her feel almost dizzy.

"Oh, _Princess_ ," he purred lowly, "you have no idea how tempting you really are."

Something told her he wasn't just talking about her blood.

Her breath hitched exactly when her heartrate skyrocketed. She really hoped a vampire's hearing wasn't so great so that they-

But when his smirk curled even deeper, that hope flew out the window.

As he stared, with her own lips parted and pupils blown, she started wondering if whether or not he was going to take a bite of a different sort. It would be moving kind of fast, but she did kind of like him, and would it really be all that bad-

However, before she could contemplate it any further, he leaned away from her to sit cross-legged on the bed again.

"I think that's enough talking for one night," Adrien acknowledged with a faint trace of the grin he was wearing only seconds ago. "I'll come back tomorrow and we can talk some more. Okay?"

Marinette could only numbly nod, as she was still trying to get over the sudden attractive boldness and flirtation he had just displayed. She swallowed once again and nodded more firmly.

"Uh, y-yeah. T-Tomorrow! See you tomorrow. I mean, there's always tomorrow, right?"

She wanted to slap herself for the embarrassing babbling she just released on him. Her cheeks burned as red as a ladybug's shell as she bit her lip and looked away, unable to look at him in the eyes.

After all that, she epically screws up just as he's about to leave.

 _Way to go, Marinette_ , she bitterly thinks.

Adrien, to her immense relief, only let out a short chuckle as he took her hand in his, prompting her to look back at him. She blushed anew when he pressed his lips to the skin above her knuckles, and holding the kiss for a few seconds longer than he had ever done before.

When he released her, he called out for Plagg to transform him. Marinette had nearly forgotten about the little kwami. It didn't help that he had never returned. Well, he never returned to her line of sight, anyway.

It was all too soon when she saw a black blur zip up to Adrien's ring, and in no time he was clothed in the leather of Chat Noir.

"Wait a minute," she spoke, eyebrows furrowed in puzzlement. "If your miraculous protects you from the sunlight, then why are you wearing it at night?"

He smiled, blinking his newly-returned cat eyes to her.

"This suit's like a second skin. It's easier to run around in than in jeans and a t-shirt. Anyway, you can also sleep easily tonight knowing that Nino has to have gotten Alya by now. If there was a problem he would've called me, so I know your friend's safe."

"Thank you, Adrien," she bid with a beaming smile. She loved that he not only showed care to her, but to her best friend as well. That definitely earned him some brownie points in her book.

He presented her with another smile before beginning to climb out the skylight to her room.

Hey, wait another minute!

"Wait!"

He was already halfway out, so he heaved himself completely out of the room prior to poking his head through the hole leading back to her room.

"What is it, Princess?"

"Is Nino a vampire, too?"

He laughed and shook his head.

"No, Nino's not a vampire…"

She breathed a little sigh of relief at that. At least there was still _some_ normalcy in her life.

"He's a werewolf!"

Marinette choked at the same time Adrien winked and disappeared back into the night.

* * *

 **Hope you all enjoyed this, I loved writing it :) Next chapter will be what happens when Nino goes to get Alya ;)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Glad to see you guys liked the last chapter ;) Here's some DJWifi for you ;D**

* * *

 **Chapter 11**

Nino frowned as he walked to the entrance of the inner city club. There were dozens of people lined up outside to get in, but the bouncer looked like he wasn't going to budge and let them through. Good thing he has been to this club enough times to develop a bond between the bounder and himself, a bond that would guarantee him entry.

He didn't like having to go pick up Alya, but not because he had to purposely go out of his way to do it. He's been to many clubs, he knows what they're like, and he honestly didn't want Alya in a place like that. Granted, she could do whatever she wanted, but it still didn't change the fact that there were some sickos out there that would happily prey upon her.

Rapists, druggies, drunkards, the list went on.

Nino didn't even bother fighting through the line of people, instead choosing to walk along the side of it, past everyone and to the front. The people behind him laughed, thinking there was no way this cocky bastard was just going to get in so easily.

He allowed a smug grin to curl his lips when the bouncer greeted him with a nod and let him pass without another word. He could hear the indignant shouts behind him before the door closed.

He narrowed his eyes as he slowly peered around the room, searching for a head of curly auburn hair. At first he almost missed it, but then he spotted just the hair he was looking for, attaching to a woman with her arms raised in the air as she danced, carefree and oblivious to anything outside of the pounding music.

Nino weaved through men and women alike to get to her, almost making a man spill his drink in his haste to get to Alya. He mentally prayed that the girl wasn't drunk, or else getting her out of the club may be difficult.

If Alya was headstrong sober, then he didn't even want to imagine what she would be like when drunk.

Her back was turned when he pushed his way into the sea of bouncing bodies. To get her attention, he slid behind her and tapped her on the shoulder.

Immediately she spun around, her eyes widening when she recognized him. Her arms slowly lowered to her sides as she took in the unexpectedly-seen friend.

"Nino?" she questioned loudly over the music. "What are you doing here?"

Her words weren't slurred at all, thank God. She was still completely sober.

"I could say the same for you," he retorted, almost like he was scolding her. "Marinette went home. I was sent to pick you up."

Alya raised a brow, not believing him.

"Marinette wouldn't just randomly go home alone. And who sent you to come get me?"

"She didn't go home alone. Chat Noir picked her up. He-"

"Chat Noir picked her up?!" Alya screeched, suddenly looking very angry. "He was here and I didn't see him?! And she didn't introduce me to him?" She turned her head away as she grumbled to herself. "I'm going to kill her."

"You can worry about killing her later. Now, how about we-" Nino tried, but he was cut off once again.

"And how do you know Chat Noir, anyway?" she asked, her anger evaporating and turning into suspicion. "And-"

"Hey, are you going to dance or what?"

Nino looked up at the same time Alya turned, to see a man most likely in his mid-20's. He stared down at Alya, a leering grin curling his lips that caused a strange reaction in the werewolf. It was an unpleasant feeling, that much he knew.

"What's it to you?" Alya retorted, not at all liking how the man's eyes raked over her body. Nino's mouth pressed into a hard line. What was wrong with him? He was usually so chill and rarely ever got truly mad. But this guy seemed to be pushing the right buttons that night.

"I figured since you're not dancing with him, you'd like to dance with me," he replied flirtatiously, his eyes hooded and his voice a low murmur.

That strange feeling intensified in Nino's stomach, and he found himself clenching his fists at his sides. He never wanted to punch another person so much in his life up until that point.

"Sorry, not happening," Alya scoffed, crossing her arms together.

Apparently, the man didn't like that, given by how his eyes narrowed into a harsh glare. Before either of them could blink, he latched onto Alya's arm and pulled her closer. She gritted her teeth and tried breaking out of the hold, but he held on strong.

"Let go of me, asshole!" she spat. Lifting her knee, she prepared to give him a blow to where the sun didn't shine, when a low, animalistic growl was heard.

They paused. The man slowly looked up at the same time that Alya turned. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped.

There was Nino, trembling with barely-restricted rage as his brown eyes flared. Literally. They were practically glowing as he bared his teeth, and Alya could immediately tell even with the lack of light that his teeth were just slightly larger and pointier. Almost like an animal's. The noise he made certainly didn't help with her comparison.

The man's fingers loosened their grip, until he was no longer holding Alya. He gulped in fear at the now-terrifying man standing in front of him. He thought the guy was a total wimp at first, but now? He looked ready and able to murder him.

Without removing his eyes from the man, Nino reached forward to take Alya's other arm and pulled her closer to himself. She was too shocked to object, her mind numb as she simply stood there.

In the back of her mind, she gave him credit for how he was literally shaking in fury, yet held onto her arm with the most gentle grip.

With one more warning growl directed at the patron, Nino stomped off, out of the club while pulling her along. Alya tried finding words, wanting to question him about his animalistic display, but wasn't able to. For quite possibly the first time in her life, she was speechless.

Nino continued to lead her, only stopping when they came to an alley. He pulled her inside, finally letting go and bringing his hand to his head. She saw him deeply breathe in from his nose, pause, then let it out. He repeated the action three more times, all the while with his eyes closed. When he opened them again, they were back to their usual dulled golden brown color.

He didn't open his mouth, but she guessed that his teeth must have been back normal as well.

"What was that?!" she demanded after finding her voice.

Nino smiled wide and sheepish. His back was ramrod straight, tense as his eyes shifted from side to side.

"Uh…what was what?"

Alya's temper flared. He had the audacity to ask that? Was he serious?

"Are you serious?! Your eyes glowed, a-and your teeth grew and were sharp. And you freaking _growled_ , like a dog!"

"I am not a dog!" he barked.

"Then what are you?"

"I'm a were-…uh…" He stopped before he could finish the word. He was so stressed he almost gave away his secret.

Or, so he thought.

"A were…" Alya murmured, pondering this new clue. She knew he wasn't human, since his eyes glowed, his teeth could grow and sharpen, and he could growl like an animal. And whatever he was, it started with 'were'.

Her body relaxed from its taut stance as her mind instantly supplied the missing half of the word.

No, that was impossible. He couldn't be…those didn't exist!

"You didn't mean that you're a…a _werewolf_ , did you?" she asked tentatively.

Nino looked away, down to the ground as he bit his lip. For what felt like hours but was only a few minutes he didn't speak, obviously thinking about his options.

The longer the silence drew on, the more Alya was convinced that she was right.

"Yeah," he finally muttered, confirming her suspicion. He tore his gaze from the ground to lock his defeated eyes with hers. "Yes. I'm a werewolf."

Alya couldn't help the sharp intake of breath at his answer. He was a werewolf! A real, living, breathing werewolf! And he was right under her nose this whole time! She thought creatures like him were myths. Never would she have ever guessed that they were real.

Oh, imagine if the world knew! She would be the most widely-renowned reporter in history for bringing this discovery to light.

"This is awesome!" she exclaimed, startling Nino who looked utterly confused. He expected her to scream, maybe even run, but be excited?

Did…did this mean that she accepted him?

"Oh my God, I can't believe this!" she squealed.

She stuck her hand down the front of her dress, prompting Nino to instantly turn red and quickly look away.

Alya retrieved her cell phone not a moment later, holding it up and getting the camera ready.

"Can you turn into a wolf right now? Or do you need the full moon for that? Ooh, can you do the growl thing again and make your eyes glow like before?"

"Alya!" Nino cried out, taking a step closer to her. "You can't record me or take pictures of me! No one can know about my kind."

"Are you kidding me?" she countered, her eyebrows furrowing but her aim of the camera unrelenting. "This is biggest story of the century! Can you imagine how people will react if they find out that werewolves are real?"

"Yeah, they'll _kill_ me, Alya," Nino snapped, teeth bared in a snarl. "If people find out that werewolves exist, I and my kind will be either hunted down or experimented on. Either way, we'll still die in the end. I know you love getting stories out, but is my death worth it?"

Alya faltered, her phone lowering from being pointed at his face to facing the ground.

All of a sudden, she didn't feel so excited anymore. In fact, she felt guilt tugging at her heartstrings. This story could make her, but at the cost of a life? No, it was too much. She wanted to achieve her dream of being a journalist, but not at the expense of someone else's death.

She pressed the sleep button on her phone and awkwardly held it in one hand at his side. Nino breathed out a sigh of relief; Alya was unable to look at him in her shame.

"Thank you, Alya," he bid, his voice causing her to tilt her head up to stare into his eyes. When did he get so close? And…why did she not mind?

He smiled, a huge contrast to his earlier snarls.

"Really, thank you. I know it must be hard-"

"What?" she whispered, offended at his assumption. "Do you really think it would be hard for me to turn down a story at the expense of someone's _life_? Do you really think I'm that cruel?"

Nino paled, immediately backtracking in a panic.

"No! No, of course not! I don't think that at all. I just thought-"

"Well you thought wrong," she fired back, her arms crossing in front of her chest again. "I would never do that to someone. I want to write amazing stories, but not so that it would cause the death of someone else. Especially someone that I care about."

Nino paused, a warm feeling manifesting in his chest.

She cared about him?

He smiled in spite of himself. She cared about him. But why did he care so much? She probably cared about everyone, Alya was a nice girl. He shouldn't be so affected like this. He cleared his throat, distracting himself before he could mentally delve deeper into something that wasn't there.

"So, do you want me to take you home?" he asked, scratching the back of his neck. As quickly as he had started the action he froze, eyebrows furrowing as he yanked his hand away.

He was hanging out with Adrien so much he started to pick up on his nervous habits.

Alya grinned mischievously, making Nino frown in suspicion.

"You mean like turn into a wolf and let me hold onto you while you run back to my home? Hell yeah!"

Nino rolled his eyes. Because _of course_ she would want him to do that.

"Sorry, but a giant wolf running through the streets just isn't that discreet."

"Party pooper," she grumbled, causing Nino to give her an exasperated look. "Fine, I guess you could take me home the old-fashioned way."

"Good," he sighed in relief. "Come on."

The two walked out of the alley together, down the road to start the journey back to Alya's place. Alya tried asking him for details about his supernatural life, but he wasn't willing to talk about it in public. So for most of their walk she pouted, leaving Nino trying to take it away by talking about music and other mundane things.

However, this only seemed to annoy her further.

Finally he just gave up, resigned to the silence…and her displeasure.

Until, an idea came to him.

It would be risky, and if he told anyone back home about this he knew he would be labelled as a fool and an idiot. But even though he has only known Alya for such a short time, he knew she wouldn't stab him in the back and tell the world what he was about to offer her to tell her.

"I can tell you more in private if you want," he murmured, inducing the aspiring journalist to peer up at him in shock, all traces of annoyance wiped off her face.

Suddenly, a huge grin spread her lips, a look that Nino knew he was going to dread in the future.

"Awesome!" she cheered. After taking off her heels, she used her free hand to snatch his before she broke into a run. Nino yelped in surprise as he obediently let her lead him, only stopping when she came to her apartment house.

She let go of his arm to fumble with her clutch for her keys. Nino was speechless as she hurriedly retrieved them, then unlocked the door before she took his hand again and led him inside.

"You want to do this now?!" he sputtered in a whisper inside the dark hallway.

"Of course!" she replied, just as quietly as he had spoken.

"Alya, it's late. Besides, we could get caught!"

"You could just get away with your werewolf powers," she supplied casually.

"I don't have any powers in my human form," he explained, hoping she would get the point that he should leave, quickly before anyone would hear them. "Just a heightened sense of smell and hearing."

"Okay, fine then," she relented, crossing her arms again. "Then just answer a few questions here and now."

Nino groaned, knowing he wouldn't be able to get away until this woman's curiosity was satisfied.

"Fine," he ground out. "What do you want to know?"

"Do you need a full moon to transform, or can you just do it whenever you want?"

"I can do it whenever I want."

Alya's interest was piqued.

"Ooh, okay. Do you live in a pack or do you live by yourself?"

"Some choose to live by themselves. But most of us, like me, live in packs."

"Interesting," she mused, rubbing her chin like one would when analyzing a piece of artwork. Nino rolled his eyes for what felt like the hundredth time that night.

"Do you have to bite someone to turn them into a werewolf?"

"Yes," he replied, a little nervous for her reaction. "A bite from a werewolf is guaranteed to turn a human."

"Woah," she gasped. Her mouth was in an open smile, relieving him. "So do you have any weaknesses? Like silver or something?"

"Nope," he answered, shaking his head in the negative. "We're durable, but extreme violence can still kill us."

"So, like, a silver bullet in the heart would kill you? Like how some myths say?"

A wry grin spread across his features.

"Wouldn't that kill anyone?"

"Good point," she agreed.

While Alya thought of her next question to ask, Nino couldn't help asking his own.

"So," he mumbled, gazing up at her anxiously. "Does this mean you're not afraid of me?"

Alya paused in her pondering, giving him a surprised look. She blinked in disbelief, until a coy smirk curled her lips. Nino's breath hitched as she took a step closer to him.

"It's going to take more than a little fur to scare _me_ , Wolfie."

Nino's cheeks erupted in crimson, the blush spreading from the tips of his ears to the bottom of his neck. This only seemed to encourage her even more, as she stepped even closer to him and trailed a finger seductively down his chest.

"Actually," she purred, peering up at him through her lashes, "I think it's kinda hot."

He was certain he was suffering heart failure. Could his cheeks turn any more red?

"See you in school," she murmured before opening up the door behind him. Nino could only stumble out, still in shock about this new turnout of events.

"Hey, one more thing," she called out, bringing him out of his flustered thoughts.

"Y-yeah?" he stuttered. Hm, maybe he still wasn't completely over her flirtations.

"You know Chat Noir," she stated. "Is he a werewolf too?"

The question caused Nino to chuckle. Oh, God help him if he was a werewolf. His father would always pester him about things like his fur being in the most pristine condition. Or how he couldn't smell like the woods before coming inside the castle. There was also the fact that he highly doubted that Adrien could actually hunt down and kill a live animal for food. He was too kind-hearted for that.

"No, he's not a werewolf."

Alya slumped with relief. Good, because she doubted that Marinette could handle a creature from the supernatural world. She would probably faint in fright, the poor thing.

"He's a vampire!"

Her eyes widened as she began to cough furiously. Nino laughed before he left to go back to his own home, satisfied with how he was able to turn the tables on her.


	12. Chapter 12

**The lovely tumblr artist 'chatartistx' has created** **beautiful** **fanart of this story! :D I can't provide the link here, but if you go to her tumblr page you'll be able to find it :) So go over there and give her some love! :D**

* * *

 **Chapter 12**

It took a while for Marinette to fall asleep after Chat's-or rather, _Prince Adrien's_ -departure. His confession kept repeating itself over and over in her mind like a mantra, effectively robbing her of any rest. It was only when her exhausted brain finally couldn't keep up with the rampaging thoughts of that night that she was finally able to sleep.

Now she sat at her desk the next day, her current sewing project forgotten, as she once again let her mind wander.

After a few minutes of getting nowhere, she took a deep breath, and let it out slowly through her mouth.

She had to calm down, and organize her thoughts.

Okay, first and foremost, Adrien was a vampire.

And not just any vampire, but a prince.

Marinette scoffed, sardonic and tired.

Of _course_ she would somehow manage to attract a vampire prince. Because why should she ever have a mundane, predictable life like everyone else? Only _she_ would end up getting her life tossed up like this, by a creature that everyone thought was only a myth!

She knew one thing, and that was the urge to know more about him and others of his kind in whole. Like could they turn into bats? Did they have a weakness to garlic? Or crosses? Could they see their reflections in mirrors?

A feeling of curiosity and enthusiasm bubbled inside her. He said he was going to come back later tonight, she would be able to ask all her questions then.

Her once brightened eyes and straightened posture dulled and slouched, new feelings of doubt overcoming her excitement.

What if she asks him too many questions and he gets annoyed? What if he thinks that she needs to stop being so nosey? What if he gets offended by her questions? What if he-

"MARI, HOLY FUCK!"

Marinette repressed the startled scream that very nearly tore out of her mouth as she quickly turned to her trapdoor, seeing it pushed open by an extremely familiar hand, followed by a more-than familiar head popping up through the hole leading to her room.

She literally leaped inside, slammed the trapdoor shut, then proceeded to grab Marinette's hand and haul her to the chaise. When her butt connected to the soft cushion, she looked up at her best friend in bewilderment.

"Alya, what-"

"Girl!" she interrupted, sitting down beside Marinette and placing her hands on her shoulders. She took a deep breath, clearly mentally preparing herself, and spoke in a serious tone that Marinette has never heard before.

"Marinette, there's something you need to know about Chat Noir."

Hmm…now just what could _this_ be about? Marinette hadn't the faintest idea at all…

"Oh, really? Do tell," she coaxed with a slight curl of her lips. She couldn't help feeling at least a little smug; it was rare when she knew something before Alya did. Was feeling a little boastful for once a crime?

Although, she wondered just how Alya knew this little tidbit of information at all.

"Marinette, this is _serious_!" she hissed, squeezing her shoulders. "Don't laugh when I say this, but Chat Noir is a vampire! Like, those blood-sucking, evil creatures from the movies."

Marinette's sly expression quickly turned into a harsh glare, desire to protect the sweet vampire surging through her veins as she immediately came to his defense.

"Adrien is _not_ evil!"

Alya drew back, blinking in surprise at her friend's sudden anger, until her look resembled that of confusion.

"Wait, is 'Adrien' Chat Noir's real name?"

"Yes, and I would appreciate it if you didn't say he was evil," Marinette huffed in return, not relenting on the dirty look aimed upon the budding journalist.

Alya shrunk back, apologetic as she flashed her a grimace.

"Sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I meant, like, he's a vampire like in horror movies and that. I didn't really mean to say that he's _evil_. Besides, if he was I would've made sure he couldn't see you again," she finished with an air of confidence and cheek.

Marinette fondly rolled her eyes, her earlier anger for Alya having dissipated by the time she had finished her apology.

"No offense, but I don't think you'd be able to beat a vampire in a fight."

Alya looked purely affronted by the claim, even placing a hand on her chest as though nursing a wounded heart. Although, with her, it was more likely her wounded ego.

"And how would you know? I'm sure I can beat _your Adrien_ in a fight any day."

She couldn't miss the opportunity to at least tease her a little bit, and felt satisfaction course through her as she noticed her friend's cheeks color. Marinette grabbed her pillow on the chaise and rightfully smacked her upside the head with it. Alya blew the tendrils of loose hair that had fallen into her face due to the hit out of her vision and fixed her with a mischievous grin.

"While I would normally finish you off in a pillow fight, I honestly think we have to talk about this."

Marinette nodded, agreeing with her and put down her temporary feather-filled battle weapon.

"You're right. Let's just start with the basics. Adrien's a vampire, and I know Nino is a werewolf," she stated calmly.

Alya blinked, stupefied by this new disclosure.

"You know? How did you know?"

Marinette grinned, since it was usually her asking that question to Alya whenever something new happened.

"Adrien told me, just as how I'm sure Nino told you that Adrien is a vampire. Which is not all that surprising, now that I think about it, since they're best friends and all."

Alya let out a short chuckle of ironic amusement.

"You know, this is the perfect set-up for a rom-com. The two best guy friends liking the two best girl friends?"

"Wait," Marinette halted, her eyes widened and her mouth open in surprise. "Nino likes you?! Really? When?" She wanted them together, but didn't think it would happen _this_ fast. Her eyes sparkled slyly and her butt wiggled on the seat of the chaise in new eagerness for details. "What exactly happened when Nino picked you up last night?"

Now, it was Alya who was bashful. In the back of her mind, Marinette remarked that it must have been opposite day with how their roles were suddenly switched.

"Well, he didn't exactly _say_ that he liked me," Alya said, her mouth twisting in an embarrassed grimace. Her hazel eyes glanced away from the curious blue-eyed gaze of her best friend. "I flirted with him a little and he got flustered. You don't think I scared him off, do you?"

Marinette smiled in reassurance, taking Alya by the shoulders so she was forced to look at her.

"I'm sure you didn't scare him away. He was probably taken aback by your flirting, but I'm sure it wasn't unwelcome."

"Thanks, girl." A corner of Alya's mouth tugged up in a half-grin, until it broadened into a cunning smirk.

Marinette faltered in her confidence; it seemed that their roles were going to switch back to normal.

Alya leaned forward, a devilish gleam in her eyes as she spoke. "And what exactly happened with you and Adrien last night, hmm?"

"Nothing much," Marinette nervously replied, shifting her gaze away from Alya's pressuring one. "He just…ah, you know…" Her voice lowered to a small squeak as she spoke the last part. "Told me that he loves me?"

"He what?!" she shrieked, this time taking Marinette's shoulders but unlike before, she actually began to shake the girl in her astonishment. "He said he loves you?!"

"Y-e-e-e-e-s," Marinette managed to get out through Alya's shaking.

"Tell me!" Alya demanded, finally relinquishing her hold on the girl. Marinette took a moment to recover, rapidly blinking her eyes as the world returned to focus.

"Well," she started once she was fully lucid again, "he said he's in love with me and that I'm his Loved One, which is kind of like a soulmate, I guess."

There was no way she was actually going to repeat Adrien's definition. One, she didn't think Alya's heart would be able to physically take it, and two, she felt that the confession should be for her ears only, and that it was a special moment strictly reserved between her and Adrien. She didn't want to share it with anyone else, even if the thought might have been selfish.

"A soulmate? And what did you say back?" Alya asked, ever anxious for more details.

She sighed. Under the scrutiny of her best friend, she was beginning to wonder if her answer had in fact been a mistake. Adrien was fine with it, but Alya was pushing for this relationship to happen. What if she reprimanded Marinette for her answer?

"I said that I didn't feel the same for him, but I'm willing to give him a chance so that my feelings for him can possibly grow. I already do like him, but I'm not _in love_ with him, you know?"

Alya nodded, understanding shining in her eyes and Marinette immediately sagged in relief.

"That's understandable. After all, you haven't personally known him for very long."

Marinette chuckled. "Actually, he said that vampire couples normally marry within two weeks of knowing each other."

Alya's eyes threatened to bulge out of her head at that new fun fact.

"Are you serious? Two weeks? That's crazy! Do they get divorces in vampire world?"

She shook her head. "I don't know, I didn't ask him."

"You should ask him next time you see him, but don't make it look like you don't have confidence in a potential relationship with him," Alya advised, nodding and acting as if she was a love guru, in Marinette's eyes. "When's he coming back?"

"He said he'll be here tonight."

"Good, ask him then," Alya decided with a resolute nod. "Did he tell you anything else about vampire life?"

"He said that vampires can't go out in the sun, and that they are immortal, but they can still die when dealt with enough violence." Marinette frowned, cringing in aversion to the idea of Adrien getting hurt. He's extremely durable, he said so himself, so was it normal for her to worry about him?

"Woah, Nino's the same way," Alya remarked in disbelief. "Well, except for the 'sun' thing. And he said that a bite from a werewolf is guaranteed to turn someone into a werewolf."

"So I guess the myths are true, to some extent," Marinette concluded with a wry grin. "I wonder if the other ones are true too..."

…

"Wipe off that stupid grin on your face, you're going to make me throw up my cheese."

Adrien followed through with the order, relinquishing on his lovesick expression by offering Plagg a glare devoid of any real animosity.

"I'm surprised you haven't thrown up already, given by how much cheese you scarf down every day, you glutton," he retorted, reaching over to the top of his computer monitor to give a fond scratch on the top of Plagg's head.

The kwami reacted by arching into the touch and letting out a low purr-a sign of vulnerability that he only permitted his holder to see. Adrien smiled and after a moment retreated back, glancing down to the foreign letter lying in front of him on the desk. He picked up his previously discarded fountain pen, using it to tap at his lower lip as he mentally sorted out his response.

It was a letter from the Chinese Emperor of Vampires, requesting for a meeting between his daughter and Adrien in order to possibly arrange an engagement. Adrien wasn't too surprised by the proposal, he had never made his 'taken' status known to all the other kingdoms since nothing official between himself and Marinette had happened yet. She didn't even love him yet; she could reject him and Adrien would be resigned to pick someone else for his wife.

Granted, he would be heartbroken and likely miserable for the rest of his immortal life, but he was aware that the kingdom needed an heir, and he wouldn't abandon that duty for his people.

However, as of now he was solely dedicated to Marinette and winning her heart, and since she hadn't rejected him, he could technically still say that he had a Loved One.

And so, he began to pen his response, politely telling the Emperor that although he was flattered at the offer, he was interested in someone else and may marry her one day.

Adrien paused in his writing, a smile curving his lips as he thought about it.

Marinette, in an elaborate, gorgeous wedding gown fit for a princess, and he, at the altar blissfully waiting for her and probably smiling so wide his face was close to cracking. Or he could have the love-struck look he was more recently prone to having, either one was plausible.

Just as he was getting to the part where he removed the veil in his daydream, a sharp knocking at the door jarred him from his reverie.

He shook his head to clear it, drawing a snicker from Plagg.

"Yes?" Adrien answered, setting down the pen.

"Your father would like to see you, Adrien," came the reply, before the door opened.

Nathalie, the Royal Advisor. Also the only one in the castle permitted to call Adrien by his first name, other than his father. When Adrien's mother was killed, Nathalie didn't exactly slip into the role as second mother. She still maintained some of her distance as was royal protocol, yet made her presence known all the same.

Back when Gabriel kept his son on a tight leash, Nathalie was the one who brought Nino to the castle to keep him company. As he got older, it was Nathalie who persuaded Gabriel to keep increasing the distance in how far he was allowed to venture.

And it was Nathalie who convinced Gabriel to approve of Adrien's choice in a Loved One.

So, not exactly a second mother, but pretty damn close in Adrien's opinion.

"Did he say what he wanted?" he asked, coming back to the present, his stomach in knots over his father's request. It was hardly ever good when Gabriel wanted to see him. However, if he had to guess, he would say that it more than likely involved Marinette somehow.

Nathalie's stony visage didn't change.

"He did not. Shall I tell him you'll see him shortly?"

"Yes, please. Thank you, Nathalie."

Thank you…so many times he has uttered those words. He often wondered if she knew the full extent of them.

She nodded once.

"I'll go tell him. Have a good day, Adrien."

With one smooth turn of her heel, she was gone and the door closed with a soft click.

"Well," Adrien sighed, rising up from his chair. "I better go see what he wants."

"Make sure you say hello for me," Plagg joked, shooting his holder a wink before he left the room.

…

"Adrien," Gabriel began once his son was seated in front of him. On his desk lay several scattered documents, of which Adrien didn't have any notion about. He would learn soon, he supposed. Nathalie usually read them to him once his father was done with them.

"Father," he returned, his mouth set in a neutral frown, matching Gabriel's. "You wanted to speak with me?"

"I did." He nodded and steepled his fingers together, indicating the matter he was about to discuss would be serious…pretty much how every conversation between Father and Son commenced. "How is your progress with your Loved One? Have you decided on a date to bring her here for an engagement ball?"

Adrien blinked, for the question caught him off guard, considering the details of the previous night with Marinette and himself. She wasn't in love with him, not to mention that she barely knew about his world. He wasn't about to bring her here for an engagement and let her go meet every vampire leader blind!

"N-No, I haven't, Father." He decided not to explain any more than what was necessary.

Gabriel raised an eyebrow. Of course the simple answer wasn't enough for him.

"And why not? Surely your pursuits are working, if you disappearing every night is anything to go by?"

Adrien was sure if he was human he would've blushed right then. Going to see Marinette was one thing, but having his visits referenced by his _father_ was another altogether.

"Well, they are, kind of?" He rested his hand on the back of his neck; he could never quit that reaction of when he was nervous. "She likes me, of that I'm sure of. I told her the truth about me last night and she-"

"What?!" Gabriel interrupted, his solemn expression crumbling for possibly the first time in years. His eyebrows furrowed in what was undoubtedly anger. "You only told her _last night_?! What have you been doing all this time?"

"I'm taking this slow," Adrien retorted, the second time in his life he ever stood up to his intimidating father. "I'm not going to mess this up by rushing it. I don't care what you say, my possibility of a future with Marinette is too precious to risk. I'm going to do this at her pace, not mine."

Gabriel sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers.

"We need an heir-"

"Do we really?!" Adrien snapped. His earlier bravery only serving to pave the way for more. He wasn't going to back down this time. "You're King, and you're healthy. I'm perfectly fine as well, so there's plenty of time for me to get married and have an heir. I know you always like to be prepared, Father, but you don't need to worry. I'm not going anywhere."

Gabriel's ice blue eyes flashed in ire, his fists clenching on the desk as he spoke with a snarl that normally would've sent Adrien bowing his head and apologizing. Today, he met the furious gaze head-on with his own look of hardness.

"They're still out there, Adrien. One night you could go out and never come back! So yes, I do have reason to worry."

"I can take care of myself!"

"Your mother thought the same thing!"

Adrien faltered at the mention of her. Nevertheless, he continued to press on.

"What happened to Maman was an accident. There haven't been any sightings of them for years, it's not going to happen again."

Gabriel calmed, but a storm still brewed in his countenance.

Adrien sighed, all of the pent-up emotions leaving him in a single breath as he felt himself relax.

"I'm not going to rush anything with Marinette. You're just going to have to be patient, because I'll wait 10 years for her if that's what it takes. I am _not_ screwing this up. I'm going to be okay, Father. I promise."

Without waiting for a dismissal, Adrien rose out of his chair and quietly left the room, not offering another glance to his father.

Gabriel slumped in his chair. He was frustrated with his son, extremely so, yet he couldn't help but notice something during their entire exchange, especially with how it ended.

Adrien no longer bent to his will, instead choosing to follow his own heart and mind.

A corner of his mouth quirked up just the tiniest bit.

His son was beginning to act like a king.

* * *

 **I apologize for the long delay of this. I hope this chapter was worth it :) More info about Mama Agreste will be out next chapter ;)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

That night when Chat Noir visited, he dropped his transformation as soon as his body hit the bed, not taking long to remove his shoes either. Marinette was already sitting there, waiting with a piece of camembert for Plagg and an excited gleam in her eyes. Adrien could instantly tell that she was yearning to ask him more questions, of which he'd happily answer. He didn't think he could deny her anything.

Plagg didn't waste any time in snatching the piece of cheese into his little paws. He turned to Adrien with a satisfied grin.

"I like her. You should keep her."

"Plagg!" he scolded, but sighed in resignation as he realized that no amount of admonishing would ever affect the kwami's bad manners. "You could at least thank her."

Marinette smiled in amusement, the corners of her mouth curling up even more when Plagg turned around with an almost bored expression on his face.

"Yeah, thank you," he quickly said, sounding like he wanted to get it over with. But Marinette had a feeling that the kwami wasn't always so rude. She knew that he had to be nice deep down, otherwise she doubted that Adrien would've stuck by him for all the time that he has.

Speaking of which…

After Plagg retreated to another part of the house to give the budding couple some privacy, Marinette steeled herself and took in a breath, trying to calm herself. She didn't want to overwhelm him by ambushing him with her questions.

Adrien, noticing this, laughed lightly.

"It's okay, Marinette," he assured with no hint of sarcasm or annoyance. "Go ahead, ask me anything you want."

She nodded, though still keeping in mind to not ask him too many questions. She was still wary of aggravating him by asking too much.

"How long have you known Plagg?"

"Since I was five," he answered without hesitation, smiling at the memory. "It was my birthday and my parents decided it was time I received my chosen kwami, so I could go outside during the day."

Marinette nodded once more at the new information. Although it answered what she wanted to know, a part of his response left her wanting to learn more.

"Chosen?" she repeated, perplexed. "How does your kwami get chosen? Who chooses one for you? Wait, are there more?"

Adrien chuckled, both amused and endeared by her curiosity.

"We have seven kwamis in France, but there are more in other countries. They're generally given to vampires of the nobility and royalty, like myself. In our kingdom we have a wise, older vampire who is entrusted with the kwamis and gives them to whoever is worthy. His name is Master Fu. He decided that Plagg would be a good fit for me."

"Are you happy with Plagg?" Marinette asked, wondering if he only tolerated the kwami because he had to, or if he truly liked him. "Do you regret having Plagg?"

Adrien shook his head.

"Not at all, I love having Plagg as my kwami. He can be a bit of a grouch sometimes, and rude…and a cheese-loving glutton…but he's one of my best friends and I wouldn't have it any other way."

Marinette's lips pulled up in a crooked smile at the sincere declaration. Adrien matched the expression, leaving the human and vampire gazing at each other in contented silence. It was only broken when Marinette cleared her throat, intending on getting back to business. Adrien took the cue and leaned back on his hands, relaxing himself for quite possibly the most pleasant interrogation he would ever face.

"So, how old are you?"

He didn't miss a beat when he answered.

"20."

Marinette rolled her eyes and grinned.

"Okay, maybe physically, but how old are you really? How many years have you been on this Earth?"

Adrien smirked, immediately clueing in on what she was thinking.

"I swear to you that I'm only 20, Princess. I'm not hundreds of years old like the books and movies like to claim that all vampires are."

Her brows knitted together in confusion, thrown by his statement. She honestly expected him to be at least a hundred years old, just like the way they're portrayed in the books and movies that he pointed out. How many other things did they get wrong?

"So, there are no vampires over a hundred?" she asked just to be sure, until she thought of another detail that only made things even more confusing for her. "But I thought you said that vampires are immortal?"

Adrien smiled, still ever-so patient and accepting of any question she might ask. Marinette couldn't help but marvel at his kindness; she was sure if she was talking to anyone else they would've become annoyed by now.

"We are immortal. I just said that I, myself, am 20. There are a lot of vampires who are over a hundred though, like Master Fu, for example. Another thing you should know is that there are two kinds of vampires: born, and turned. I was born, and thus when my body is at its prime, I will freeze in age and stay like that forever. It usually happens between the ages of 24 and 30."

Marinette nodded, showing that she was following along and understanding. Twenty years old, huh? She was turning 18 next month in December anyway, so the age gap didn't really matter to her.

A corner of his mouth arched up before he continued to further explain.

"However, turned vampires will freeze at the age and appearance they're turned. They'll be just as immortal as born vampires are, but they will never look youthful if they're older, nor will their bodies ever be at their peak of physicality. Sure, they'll have increased strength, but they will never be as strong as a born vampire. Does this make sense?"

"Yeah, that makes sense," she murmured, mentally sorting out the new information. She was glad that he was taking it slowly and wording it so that she could understand.

"So," he started after a minute, grinning crookedly and tilting his head. "Got any more questions? I'm sure there isn't one that I can't answer."

She fondly rolled her eyes at his cockiness. Maybe one day she would be able to ask him something that would stump him, but for now she settled on the easy stuff.

"Okay, _Your Highness_ ," she drawled teasingly, "do crosses bother you or any other religious stuff?"

Adrien shook his head.

"No, none of that bothers me. The sun is our main weakness."

"How about garlic?"

"Nope. Although, I personally don't think the smell is all too pleasant."

Marinette giggled, before brightening up and wiggling in her seat on the bed. Adrien looked on in loving amusement, wondering what she had thought of that warranted her getting so excited.

"Can you turn into a bat?" she asked with wide eyes shining with anticipation.

He chuckled; he was honestly surprised she hadn't asked him that sooner.

"Sorry to disappoint, Princess, but vampires can't turn into bats. It'd be pretty cool if we could, though."

She slumped, visibly disappointed by his response, made even more obvious by the pout of her bottom lip.

"Darn, I was really counting on that one to be true," she admitted, her mouth turning up in a grin. Thankfully, she didn't seem to be truly upset by his not being able to turn into a bat. Regardless, Adrien still felt compelled to impress her, somehow.

"Well, I may not be able to turn into a bat…but," he drawled mysteriously, before quickly propelling himself upward and using his hand as a leverage on the bed, so that his whole body lay horizontally in the air. Since vampires were gifted with strength and balance, the move was easy for him to accomplish.

"I can do this," he finished with a proud grin, absolutely sure that this would impress her.

Marinette playfully snorted, crossing her arms as she regarded him with a superior smirk. For a vampire, he was such a dork.

"So? Breakdancers can do that move, too. You're going to have to try harder than that to impress me, kitty."

His grin stretched even wider in self-satisfaction, as he adjusted his hand so that his entire body's weight was held up by solely his index finger. At this, he got the reaction he wanted. Her mouth hung open in a mixture of surprise and disbelief, as her eyes darted between his finger and his body balanced perfectly in the air.

"We have increased strength and sense of balance," he elaborated, not letting up on the proud grin.

"Well, I can see that," she remarked, observing how his finger didn't even give a strained twitch.

Meanwhile she actually manages to trip _up_ the stairs.

"Okay, you can get down now, you big show-off," she said whilst having her arms crossed, her words not holding any real bite to them. She watched as he quietly obeyed, easily shifting from the otherwise impossible position to sit down in front of her again.

"So, anything else you want to ask?" he said breezily, as if he didn't just display the equilibrium that every ballerina in the world would kill to have.

"Umm," she faltered, having been distracted and now trying to think of her questions again. "Do you…uh-" She perked up, the question at last returning to her memory. "Do you sleep in a coffin?"

This time Adrien outright laughed, compared to the earlier chuckles. Marinette's smile and shoulders drooped considerably, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment. Her teeth worried her lower lip as her eyes strayed to the bedsheets.

"No, no, I'm not laughing at you," he was quick to reassure, his hands moving to take her shoulders in a comforting gesture. When she peered up, he looked mildly worried, although traces of his earlier amusement were still visible on his features.

"It's just that it's such a weird cliché. I don't even know where the whole 'vampires sleep in coffins' myth even came from. I don't get why people would think that; a coffin has to be pretty uncomfortable, in my opinion. It can't be as nice and soft as a bed, where I do sleep, when I do. And coffins don't really have a lot of toss-and-turn room either, or leg room, come to think of it. Honestly, who can sleep like that, just straight and stiff as a board like how the vampires on the movies do? I just don't-…are you laughing?"

Marinette, who was trying to keep her giggles inside, finally let them burst forth. They were getting borderline loud, so much that her parents might hear, resulting in her having to cover her mouth to muffle them.

Adrien didn't exactly see what she found so humorous, but seeing her laugh made him want to share in her mirth as well. With an airy chuckle, he asked what was so funny.

"It's just-why are you getting so worked up over it?" she replied, beginning to calm down enough to speak. "You were thinking way too much into this."

"Was not," he huffed, jutting out his lower lip in a stubborn pout. "I was just giving you all the reasons why 'vampires sleeping in coffins' shouldn't be a thing!"

"Mhmm," she hummed in faux agreement, not convinced.

"Fine," he surrendered, shaking his head. Not wanting her to think that he was truly cross, he flashed her a half-grin. "So, got anything else to ask me?"

"Yeah," she replied, getting back to business. "Can you see yourself in a mirror?"

"Of course." He smirked fully and ran a hand through his blond locks, much like a male model would during a photoshoot. "How else would I know I look this good?" He shot her a wink complete with a set of finger guns.

Marinette sighed, closing her eyes and pressing her fingers to the bridge of her nose. He actually did finger guns… And just how big was his ego, anyway? Oh well, at least he wasn't obnoxiously smug about his handsome looks.

When Adrien noticed her less-than impressed expression, he snickered but dropped the act. Marinette offered a small smile as she thought of her next question, and when she did, scooted closer to him on the bed with a conspiratorial glint in her blue eyes. Adrien arched a brow, silently urging her to continue.

"Can you compel people?"

Adrien drew back uneasily, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck as his eyes shifted away from hers. In truth, he hated whenever a vampire's power of compulsion was brought up in a conversation, or when he had to endure hearing a story of when it was used.

"Yes," he murmured, not elaborating on the subject. However, he should've known that Marinette would press for more.

"What's wrong?" she wondered, concerned yet confused for why he suddenly looked so tensed and disturbed. He honestly looked like he wanted to disappear. "Shouldn't you be proud of having that kind of power?"

His dulled eyes returned to her own, a breath leaving his throat in a humorless scoff.

"I'm not exactly proud of the ability to mess with people's heads, Marinette. I can't stand it, especially with how it's mostly used today."

"What do you mean?" she asked, her eyebrows knitted together in a frown.

Adrien sighed, putting aside his growing frustration toward his own power to explain.

"It was always meant to be used as a method for drinking blood from humans without killing them. The vampire would have their fill, then spare the human's life. Afterward, they would compel the human to forget everything that had just transpired and let them go on their way, the human never having a clue of what had just went on not even five minutes before. The vampire was fed, the human was alive, and the existence of vampires remained a secret."

His jaw tightened.

"But then over the years, vampires would come to abuse this power. They would compel a person to make them go mad, just for the fun of it. They'd turn them into blood slaves. They would compel women to-"

He paused, peering up to give a significant look to Marinette, who stared back with widened eyes and parted lips.

"Yeah," he finished awkwardly. "Basically, they would use this power for all the wrong reasons. That, combined with the fact that I just don't like to manipulate something as personal at the human mind, makes me not want to do it."

"Have you done it before?" Marinette whispered.

He refused to meet her inquisitive stare once more.

"A few times, yes. Usually I go to bars to get my blood, from intoxicated women who likely won't remember anything that happened. Or if they do, they'll only remember bits and pieces and just chalk it up to a weird dream. I know this is still manipulative and cunning, but there's honestly not much else I could do, aside from stealing from a hospital, which I _will never_ do, since it could be the difference between life and death for someone. Anyway, when I didn't have any luck at a club or bar, or when the person wasn't as drunk as I thought, I compelled them to forget."

He fidgeted, clearly uncomfortable from the memories, not to mention scared of what Marinette would think of him after this.

"I try to avoid using it whenever I can. I-I'm sorry if you still think I'm terrible. I mean, it's still wrong to take advantage of someone, but I need the blood, and I-"

"Adrien," she hushed, setting her hands on his shoulders. He was trembling. "Adrien, calm down. It's okay."

The way his normally brightened green eyes looked so dark and pained tore through her heart.

"I don't care that you do that to get blood. It's much better than stealing from a hospital, and you don't have to mess with anyone's heads. I think actually stealing a person off the streets and drinking from them would be worse, since they'll know what's going on and be terrified throughout it. With the person drunk, they won't know what's going on around them. But wait…won't they still feel it? I mean, a bite has to be pretty painful, right?"

He eventually relaxed at the feel of her warm hands, taking comfort in her support. A corner of his lips turned up, and Marinette returned the fond smile.

"Not necessarily," he said, not moving to get out of her hold, and Marinette not making any indication of drawing back. "A bite doesn't have to be painful, although the initial prick of the fangs will always hurt. But it can go away quickly if the vampire chooses to release the aphrodisiac chemical we have to make the bite pleasurable rather than painful."

"Aphrodisiac?" she repeated after taking her hands back, having a hard time understanding. Well, she knew what an aphrodisiac was and what it was for, but he couldn't possibly mean the pleasure felt from a bite was the same as-

But by the sardonic amusement written across his face, she knew that was what he exactly meant.

"There's that kind of bite, then the bite to turn a human into a vampire, and the regular, pain-induced bite. I use the first one when feeding, so the victim won't be in pain."

"The aphrodisiac one?" she asked, wanting clarification. A strange feeling swelled in her stomach, one she couldn't identify. She knew one thing though: she didn't like it.

"Yeah," he confirmed, giving her a lop-sided smile. "I don't want to hurt anyone."

"And you said you normally drink from intoxicated women?"

Adrien tilted his head, not understanding why she suddenly looked so vexed.

"Yes…?"

"And how do you drink from these women, anyway? You must be alone to do that, right?"

"Yeah, but why…?"

"And to do that, I imagine you must do something to persuade them to be alone with you. Is that right?"

Deep down, Marinette knew she was being irrational, but it wasn't her fault! Well, kind of. In her defense, Adrien was a gorgeous male, possibly flirting with drunk women, and then injecting them with an aphrodisiac. _Something_ must happen during that time!

"I do, but I don't get why-" He stopped, as it finally dawned on him. He could only stare and gape at her in shock.

Marinette was jealous.

His Loved One was jealous! It shouldn't give him so much satisfaction, he was sure of that, but this meant that she was developing feelings for him!

Right?

Yes, it had to mean that!

However, he wasn't so blinded by his newfound delight to not notice how amusing her jealousy was. She had absolutely nothing to worry about, and he intended to make sure she understood that.

"Princess," he began in a smooth tone, taking her hands in his own. The action brought memories of the previous night, prompting a smile to stretch his lips.

Marinette, meanwhile, sat still, not relenting on her small scowl as she refused to meet his gaze.

"You have nothing to be jealous over. Nothing happens except me getting the blood I need. Yes, the women feel pleasure, and I do have to pretend to flirt with them to get them alone, but I don't feel anything during it nor do I feel anything for them. I only get the blood I need, that's all that happens."

Marinette's features relaxed, but she still looked at him in doubt.

"None of them can hold a candle to you, Princess," Adrien continued sweetly, picking up one of her hands to give the knuckles a kiss. "I only love you; I'm yours."

Marinette felt her face heat up in a blush, this time she looked away only because she was flustered and couldn't meet his eyes. Adrien didn't mind, on the contrary, he was glad he was could get that type of reaction out of her. She liked him, and maybe one day she could love him.

He could only hope.


	14. Chapter 14

**I'm sorry for being such a piece of shit when it comes to updates. Lately I've been wanting to focus on Mark of a Cat and Friendly Competition and get those out of the way, so I can then begin to finish my other stories. And then college decided to dump a ton of work on me :/ But it's October, so I figured I'd work on this more.**

* * *

 **Chapter 14**

"So…" Alya prompted the next morning with a teasing smirk. "How was your date with Adrien last night?"

Marinette's cheeks took on an interesting pink hue as her eyes lowered to her desk. "It wasn't a date."

The pair were in their shared homeroom, spending the limited free time they had by talking about the newest and more interesting developments in their lives, namely Adrien and Nino now that they knew they weren't the ordinary humans they thought they were.

"Okay, it was a scandalous rendezvous under the moonlight," Alya corrected with the same shit-eating grin. Marinette's cheeks reddened even more as her mouth dropped, but once she got over the initial shock of hearing the risqué statement she quickly raised her hand and smacked Alya on the shoulder, eliciting a laugh from her best friend.

"It wasn't a 'scandalous rendezvous'!" she snapped in her embarrassed outrage. "And it wasn't even under the moonlight, we were in my room!"

"In your room?" Alya echoed suggestively, wrapping an arm around Marinette's shoulders. The grin she now bore was purely wicked. "Just _where_ in your room?"

Marinette knew that if she answered truthfully, then Alya would never let it go and proceed to tease her for the rest of the day, and possibly the week. So, she decided to counterattack in the best way possible.

"I'm sure it's not anywhere that you and Nino haven't already been," Marinette replied nonchalantly. A grin of her own slowly manifested as she noticed her friend's cheeks considerably darken.

Alya's mouth opened and closed, for the first time in a while she was struggling to find words. "We haven't-! We never met at night! Not like you and-"

"Hm? What's this about a meeting at night?"

Alya ceased talking and the two girls looked to the aisle on Marinette's side to see Lila Rossi standing with her arms folded and her lips quirked up in a seemingly innocent smile. But Marinette knew there wasn't any sweetness in her expression at all, it was false just like the many lies she regularly told. Unfortunately, not everyone in the school picked up on the falsehoods as easily as Marinette and Alya did.

And as much as she liked lying, it was possible she liked to spread gossip even more, which was why Marinette was very reluctant to answer her question.

"Just a study night, no big deal," Alya supplied easily with a shrug, the white lie practically rolling off her tongue.

"Really?" Lila inquired, tilting her head. She still bore that same innocent expression, something that Marinette was growing aggravated by as the seconds ticked on.

As though reading her mind, Lila's lips abruptly curled into a grin that was thirsty for a far more interesting answer, and yet again Marinette was reminded of her true nature. "It didn't sound like a 'study night'. Are you meeting with a boy, Marinette? I didn't think of you as the type of girl to do that."

Marinette bristled, her eyes narrowing into a harsh glare that normally would send anyone else running. While Lila didn't run, she did shrink back just the tiniest bit. Although the smug smirk she bore still remained.

"Even if I was, it's none of your business anyway, Lila." She purposefully hardened her voice, a cool dismissal to the gossip standing before her.

Lila's eyes widened in apparent hurt, she even fully played out the act by placing a hand against her heart. "I was just curious, Marinette. There's no need to be so mean."

"And there's no need for you to be so nosy," Alya retorted, almost leaning over Marinette to get closer to Lila in her annoyance.

Lila scowled, dropping the act and letting her true feelings show.

"Whatever, I don't care anyway," she replied flippantly and walked away to her own desk. But before Marinette and Alya could fully appreciate it, Nino walked in and noticing how cross they looked, asked what was going on.

"It's nothing you need to worry about, wolfie," Alya answered off-handedly. However, as she saw Nino's face erupt in a furious blush, a mischievous grin widely spread across her lips and her eyes shined with a sly twinkle. She was purely sadistic.

"W-wolfie?" he croaked helplessly. He thought that nickname was a one-time thing, he didn't think that she would keep calling him that! Meanwhile, Marinette was trying and failing not to giggle. If their interactions now were this cute, then they had amazing potential for the future.

"Yeah, I think I like the name," Alya remarked nonchalantly, taking her eyes off him to turn on her tablet. She eventually looked back to him, and smiled wider since his cheeks held no signs of returning back to their normal color anytime soon. "It suits you."

Nino remained perfectly frozen, allowing Marinette to properly observe him from head to toe. He didn't have any visible indications of being a werewolf, not that she could tell, anyway. She had thought he was a normal boy, and wouldn't have known the truth at all had Adrien not told her first.

Meanwhile, Nino appeared to snap out of his temporary stun. He noticed Marinette scrutinizing him and sent her a wry grin. "I'm guessing Alya told you?"

She shook her head, a corner of her mouth quirking up almost apologetically. "No, Adrien actually told me."

He scoffed and shook his head as he laid down his bag on the bench, prior to rotating around to face her. "I guess I shouldn't be so surprised, all you'd have to do is bat your eyes at him and he'd tell you anything."

Marinette might've been a tad offended if it wasn't for Nino's obvious teasing smile and tone. She laughed lightly and peered down at her desk, idly wondering if what he said was indeed true. Not that she would ever manipulate Adrien like that.

"You really think so?" Alya asked with a sly smirk aimed at her (in Marinette's opinion) future boyfriend. "Is he that far gone?"

Nino glanced once to Marinette before he grinned broadly.

"Definitely. I'll spare you all the mushy stuff, though."

Marinette could feel her cheeks warm. Just what did Adrien say about her that was so 'mushy' to Nino?

"Aw, but that's what I want to hear," Alya pouted, crossing her arms together. "As Marinette's best friend and future journalist, I deserve to know all the details."

"And as Adrien's girlfriend, I feel that we should have at least a little privacy," Marinette lowly muttered, and it wasn't until she heard Alya's excited gasp that all the color drained from her face as she realized what she said.

"N-no! I-I mean, I didn't-" she tried but there was no way Alya was going to dismiss her slipup.

"Girlfriend? You didn't tell me this! Why didn't you tell me?!" Alya demanded, leaning closer to Marinette in an effort to get her to spill. The girl in question reeled back, stealing a glance at Nino to see his reaction. He wasn't nearly as happy as Alya was, instead he just looked shocked.

"Please don't tell Adrien," she pleaded, and Nino found himself unable to say no to her. She just looked so scared, it was clear that she absolutely didn't want Adrien to know about this at all. To be honest, he wasn't really sure if he would've told Adrien anyway. If she didn't want him to know, then it would just be trouble and heartache for the both of them. Adrien would be ecstatic and try to persuade her for the relationship to be official, while Marinette would just be unsure, nervous, and wary.

She needed to sort out her feelings herself, without any interference from himself, Alya, or even Adrien.

"Come on Alya, don't interrogate her," he chided softly, shifting his gaze to the now disappointed amateur journalist. "Let her think."

Alya turned back to Marinette, mentally reflecting on her actions and visibly grimaced.

"Sorry, girl. I just got a little excited, you know how much I ship you two."

Marinette in turn fondly rolled her eyes. "It's fine, I understand." Oh yes, she did understand. Almost nothing got Alya more happy than seeing a couple she shipped doing romantic stuff, so she could report it and let everyone else know, of course.

At that moment Mme. Bustier walked in the room, a smile on her face as she bid good morning to the students, before requesting them to bring out their homework to check. Alya and Marinette inwardly groaned, having forgotten all about it during the eventful weekend.

…

When the three friends got lunch at a café later that day, Alya expressed that she wanted to officially meet Adrien. She wanted to see if he was worthy of the 'best friend approved' stamp, although she was sure that he already was. She wondered what kind of person he was, when he wasn't interacting with Marinette. Would he be as friendly as Marinette said he was? Or would he dislike her from the start?

Marinette and Nino assured her that Adrien would be nice if he met her, but it all came down to Marinette asking him if he would like to. All three of them felt it would be awkward if he just decided to drop in Alya's room in the middle of the night to meet her, so they decided that Alya would just have to be in Marinette's room when he would come over.

Problem was, Marinette had no idea if Adrien was interested in meeting Alya. What if he said no?

Her eyes narrowed, resolution shining in her eyes.

Well if he said no to meeting her best friend, one of the people she cared about the most, then it wouldn't be worth it to be in a relationship with him.

…

"Good evening, Princess," Chat greeted her that night right before transforming back into Adrien. Like the previous night, Marinette had a plate of camembert for Plagg waiting and like the last time, he flew off to give them privacy. Or it could've been because he just didn't care of what they had to talk about. It was probably that option.

Adrien took her hand and gave a chaste but tender kiss to her knuckles, then peered up at her with a grin. "So, any more questions for me? I'm more than happy to oblige with answers."

Marinette's own lips curled into a smile. She didn't take her hand from his as she spoke.

"Actually, there is one. My friend Alya wants to meet you, would it be okay if she came over Friday night to do so?" Hopefully he would give her the answer she wanted to hear. Over time she could see the likelihood of herself being with him becoming more and more of a reality. She didn't want to be wrong about him.

Adrien instantly brightened and perked up in his seat on her bed. Not only would he meet his Nino's possible future mate, but he would also meet his Loved One's best friend. The situation couldn't be any more perfect. He just hoped that Alya would like him, since he was more than aware that oftentimes a best friend's opinion could sway a person's decision of whether or not to date someone.

"Of course, I'd be honored to meet her," he replied with a wide smile, and instantly Marinette relaxed, thankful that he'd responded so positively. "Do you think she'll approve of me?"

From the way he spoke he sounded excited, but Marinette could detect the hints of anxiety in his eyes that betrayed what he was really feeling. She sighed affectionately and squeezed his hand in hopes of helping to comfort him.

"Between you and me," she began conspiratorially, even leaning in and darting her eyes to her right and left to 'check' if someone was listening. Adrien chuckled and nodded, playing along with the act and encouraging her further. "Alya already likes you. She just wants to meet you so she can solidify her opinion and give you her 'best friend stamp of approval'."

"Do you mean that theoretically or will I be getting an actual stamp?" he teased, prompting a light laugh from her. His heart swelled with pride, knowing that he was the cause of it.

"I'm not sure," she admitted with another giggle. "She's never had to use it before."

"Ah, so I'm your first," he concluded with a wicked smirk, and the innuendo of that wasn't lost on Marinette. Her cheeks bloomed into a rosy color, and Adrien immediately regretted what he said when she didn't respond.

Did he take it too far? Honestly he hadn't meant it like that when he said it, but now that he took time to think about it, the words could ultimately prove to damn him in the end. It was a mistake, and he opened his mouth to apologize, yet apparently she must've gotten over her shock for she laughed and removed her hand from his to point her finger at his nose.

"Don't assume anything yet, _Your Highness_ ," she warned with a small grin, saying his title with a sarcastic lilt. He couldn't help but crack a smile at it; he couldn't remember anyone calling him that the way she just did. "I still haven't made my decision."

"Anything I can do to speed up the process?" he inquired mischievously, taking her hand again to place another kiss to the knuckles, only this time he lingered longer than usual. Looking up through his lashes, he watched with satisfaction as she blushed once more and bit her lower lip.

She blinked, and just like that the spell was broken. She gently took her hand away and sighed, trying to focus on somehow getting her complexion to return to normal.

"Yes," she finally said, turning to him with an interested smile. "Can you tell me about your life? Where do you live? What's your family like?"

A breath escaped past his lips as he leaned back on his hands. Marinette noticed that he didn't look particularly eager to share anything, it was as if the very topic sucked all the happiness from his body. But why?

"I live in a castle in a forest far away from here. It's everything you would expect from a castle: huge, large windows, tapestries, ornate rugs, a million different rooms…lonely," he added in a murmur that barely reached her ears. She frowned; how bad was it in his home? From his description, up until the lonely part, it sounded like a castle that every little girl who dreamed of being a princess would love to live in.

"My father is pretty much the only family I have. He's…good to me, I suppose." He uttered a short hum with a pained smile, probably in an effort to lighten the mood but it didn't work. "He took care of me. He may not be the most caring and approachable father in the world, but he's better than plenty of others."

When Marinette only continued to stare at him in pity, Adrien continued on, not able to look at her expression. His mind wandered back as he recalled the activities he had to do every day for years.

"He made sure I was well-educated. I took Chinese and Italian lessons, although I did learn some Japanese so I could watch anime without it being dubbed." This time the chuckle he emitted was real, and Marinette laughed along with him. However, it only lasted for a few moments.

"I learned almost every academic subject and its advanced version imaginable. If you can name it, I've very likely learned it. I took piano and fencing lessons, too, along with learning how to properly analyze different kinds of documents and laws to fully understand them in order to prepare myself for being King someday."

He looked up at her then, his lips pulling up in a soft smile.

"These nights that I spend with you are some of the most relaxing moments of my life. Sure, it's fun hanging out with Nino, but you're different. I-" he stopped, briefly glancing down to the bed and Marinette wondered what more he wanted to say. "It's nice," he said at last, but she could tell that it wasn't what he truly wished to say. Why wouldn't he tell her?

Even though she wanted to know, she wouldn't force it out of him. Also, there was another question niggling at the back of her mind.

"You said your only family is your father," she murmured, gazing up at him solemnly with curiosity swirling in her eyes. "What about your mother?"

Adrien shifted, his mouth forming a tight line as he looked away. Obviously she brought up a sore topic. Guilt flooded into her heart; she hated herself for making him feel worse.

"It's okay," she said immediately. "You don't have to tell me."

He shook his head.

"No, I'll tell you. I won't keep it a secret from you." His lips quirked up into a wry grin as he turned back to her. "But it's not exactly a happy tale, Princess."

"Tell me anyway if you want," she insisted gently in a whisper. She longed for him to see that he could tell or anything, or not to if he so chose. She didn't want him to feel pressured into anything.

Adrien closed his eyes and sighed.

"Her name was Céline."


	15. Chapter 15

**For those who have seen The Collector: Gabriel will not be as shitty in this story. He will be aloof and sometimes cold, but he does actually care.**

* * *

 **Chapter 15**

* * *

" _Her name was C_ _é_ _line. It was the Winter Ball of 1992…"_

* * *

Céline looked around, feeling horribly out of place at a castle ball surrounded by vampires. She wondered why her master couldn't take any of his other blood slaves; why did he single her out?

She grimaced, clenching the glass of her water a little bit tighter.

It was probably because he considered her to be the most beautiful of his slaves, he told her his opinion of her more than once. He disgusted her. Lord Béranger was already married, and had a daughter almost her age. He had no business flirting with her. It was too bad her master wasn't married to his true Loved One, otherwise he might have not been such a problem to deal with. Instead, he married Lady Beatrice for wealth and for a better connection in society. Céline belonged to Lady Beatrice's family when she married him, and ultimately she herself was part of the deal.

And somehow, Lord Béranger became the sole person in the manor to drink from her. She wanted to tell his wife of his lecherous conduct, but she feared the repercussions should she go through with it. It didn't happen all too often, but she has been slapped more than once for minor mistakes.

Once more she glanced around, thankful that the Lord had left her alone, for once. She would savor the time while she could.

Despite being a lowly blood slave, she was wearing one of the finest gowns someone of her status could have. It was a forest green, the color matching with her eyes. The skirt and bodice were decorated with tulle of the same color, the bodice of which was a sweetheart neckline, but made more modest with the tulle partially covering the 'v'. It was off the shoulder, the material of the sleeves clinging tightly to her arm just below her elbow.

This way her neck would be fully exposed, in case Lord Béranger wanted a quick drink in the middle of the night.

Her fingers idly toyed with the edge of the green ribbon tied around the middle of the gown. She wished to dance, but blood slaves weren't allowed to. They were only permitted to stand aside, eat, and drink. They could only converse with other slaves and some vampires if their masters allowed it. And her master forbade her from speaking to anyone but him.

In short, she was horribly bored.

Supposedly, the Crown Prince of Vampires of France Gabriel (phew, that was a long title) was having this ball in order to choose a bride. She hasn't heard much about him, only that he's solemn, smart, and blunt. Basically, he had a stick up his ass.

She concealed her grin by lifting the glass to her lips. She pitied the poor woman who would have to marry a man like _that_.

Since she had nothing better to do, she surveyed the ballroom yet again. The music stopped playing and the many couples separated from each other to clap for the orchestra. All at once she had a clear view of almost every single vampire, and that's when she saw _him_.

* * *

" _Father once told me that when he first locked eyes with my mother, it was love at first sight."_

* * *

Céline blinked at the intensity of the man's gaze. His eyes were a warm blue color; immediately she thought of the moon reflecting off a calm pool of water as a comparison. However, she didn't doubt that they could turn cold and unfeeling in an instant should someone tempt him. His hair was a pale blond that was slicked back, the token hairstyle of an influential and refined vampire. His features were sharp, his jawline in particular. She had heard that feature was one many women desired. She had to admit, now that she saw it, she couldn't help but like it as well.

His posture was ramrod straight and rigid. She had a feeling if someone decided to try to tackle him at that very moment that he wouldn't even budge. The attire he wore befitted someone of a very high status, of which she wasn't certain, but it had to be up there.

The longer she stared, the more she was unable to look away. It would seem he had the same problem as well, because he didn't even blink since she first noticed him.

She might've stared at him for the next hour, had it not been for Lord Béranger choosing that opportune moment to strike.

"Just what has got your attention, my dear?" he crooned in a sickly sweet voice, instantly causing her to flinch away and a scowl to almost twist her lips.

"Oh! My Lord, you startled me!" she lied, making herself sound breathless and placing a hand against her heart to keep up the act. Well, she couldn't very well tell him that she was repulsed by him. While she believed that she'd be fine here, where there were witnesses, she didn't think she'd be safe when they got home.

He grinned, in what he probably thought was attractive but it only served to prompt her to mentally recoil. What she would give to be able to slap this man at least once. Too bad she'll be stuck with him for the rest of her life.

"I apologize. It's just that this ball is so tedious, I was hoping to have myself a little drink." He deliberately leaned over to sniff her neck, the action causing her to stiffen. He wouldn't bite her in front of all these people, would he? At least he would lead them to a private room so she would be spared the humiliation.

"And maybe," he breathed, and she had to stop herself from snapping at him to _get away from her_ , "we can do some other things."

"Ahem."

Céline jumped a bit at the new voice. Immediately she and Lord Béranger looked up to find the same man she was staring at earlier. She inwardly winced at her mistake, now he was surely here to punish her for it.

"Y-Your Highness!" her master stammered, completely off-guard by the Crown Prince's presence. However, his reaction was nothing compared to Céline's inner panic. She had been staring at Prince Gabriel the entire time?! She probably wasn't even allowed to look him in the eyes, but then she just had to go and creepily ogle him. Not only would she be reprimanded by him, but Lord Béranger's reputation would suffer because of it.

She didn't even want to think of the repercussions for it.

Prince Gabriel nodded at the greeting, even if it did sound frightened. The only thing was, he kept his focus solely on her. She couldn't even tell what his current emotion was, his face was as readable as a closed book.

* * *

" _Maman said she didn't know what to think of him at first."_

* * *

"Good evening, Lord Béranger. Are you acquainted with this woman beside you?" he asked, his tone low and betraying no hints of whatever he was thinking. That, combined with the current stoic expression he was wearing, helped her conclude that he must be an excellent poker player. Although, she did have to admit that her worry increased now that he was directly speaking about her.

"Her?" her master questioned, confused as he looked at her. "This is only my blood slave. Has she done something wrong, Your Highness?"

Céline could easily detect the hints of warning of what would come at home in his voice.

Prince Gabriel's lips pulled further down into a frown. Was that the wrong answer?

"No, she hasn't. I want to dance with her."

She nearly choked on her own spit. He wanted to dance with _her_?! He, Prince Gabriel, wanted to dance with her, a blood slave? Surely he was joking!

But his mouth didn't hold any indications of turning up in a smile. She doubted he joked very often, if at all.

"D-dance?!" her master, understandably, stuttered. His eyes were fully bugged out, as if it was the most outrageous thing he ever heard. It probably was, with good reason. "I-I told you, she's only my blood slave. Did you just want a drink of her?"

She had to admit, she was getting tired of being talked of like she wasn't there. Even worse, they made her sound like she was just an object, and she hated nothing more.

At this the Prince faltered in his rigid stance. She saw his eyes darken for a moment too quick to fully register.

"No. I want to dance with her." Despite the earlier slip in his appearance, he managed to keep his tone as perfectly even as it was before.

"But my daughter Veronique is near, Your Highness!" Lord Béranger began scanning his eyes across the room, desperate to find the woman in question. "I'm sure you'd much rather dance with a noble lady, and not a mere slave."

The Prince's lips morphed into a frown, obviously displeased by this new offer. She had to wonder if the man had truly lost his mind by this point, Lady Veronique was regarded as one of the most beautiful of vampires in France.

"No. I wish to only dance with her." Prince Gabriel's right hand went behind his back. She noticed beforehand that it had tightened into a fist. "Now, are you going to ignore a direct order from your Prince?"

She swore her master trembled in fear. If she wasn't already nervous for this dance, she likely would've laughed.

"N-No, Your Highness! Of course not." He bowed his head in submission. "You can dance with her."

Prince Gabriel nodded once.

"Adequate."

He held his hand out to her, the same that was previously behind his back. She could only blankly observe it. She had to take it, she knew that, but that didn't stop her from being almost afraid. Almost, because she prided herself on never being afraid of anything.

She placed her unfinished glass of water on the table behind her. Slowly, her fingers reached out to hover over his.

She paused. Her eyes flickered up to see the Prince returning her look. That darkened blue locked straight onto her green, and without taking her eyes off him she placed her hand in his smooth, cooler one.

* * *

" _She thought he hated her. Little did she know at the time he thought the exact opposite."_

* * *

As he led her to the ballroom floor, immediately she began to hear the astonished gasps and whispers. They knew when a human was in their midst, they could smell it on her. The only reason a human would be there was if their master decided to bring them along to occasionally drink from. Blood slaves never danced, especially with princes. So why was she there?

She wondered the same thing.

Prince Gabriel didn't appear to look the least bit affected by the whispers he had to have heard, given his enhanced hearing as a vampire. He didn't even spare them a glance as he continued to lead her to the center, where the crowd has parted to give them more than enough room. They had the entire floor to themselves.

She wasn't sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing.

He stopped directly in the center. Then he turned to face her, and it wasn't long after that she felt his arm slide around her waist. She lightly gasped as he tugged her towards to his body, her cheeks blooming into a blush to this vampire who now looked even more handsome up close.

She noticed that the hold on her waist momentarily tightened at the same time his eyes darted to her lips. Her tongue instinctively poked out to wet them, her eyes not missing the way his jaw clenched.

It was eerily silent, the guests by now beginning to accept what their Prince was doing, however outlandish it may be. It took another couple seconds, but finally it seemed the orchestra regained their senses and began to play. It was a slow tune, but one that would likely quicken the longer it lasted. The perfect dance for a couple.

Céline supposed the dance went flawlessly, neither of them faltered in their steps at all. To be honest, she could barely remember in what way they moved at all in exception to a few turns; his eyes held hers completely captive throughout the entire song.

She questioned why this was happening at all. Vampires absolutely _did not_ dancewith blood slaves, yet Prince Gabriel did. Vampires didn't tenderly hold blood slaves close, but he did. Moreover, vampires didn't stare at blood slaves that caused a shiver that wasn't distinctly fear to run down their spines. But he did.

He wasn't…attracted to her, was he? Human and vampire relationships were incredibly rare, she heard that there were only less than 10 throughout the history of vampires. Additionally, he was a royal, and royals and humans never mixed. Ever.

Plus, there were her feelings on the matter to consider as well. While Prince Gabriel was indeed handsome, he also didn't seem to possess any sort of happiness. He didn't crack a single smile throughout their dance, not even his lips twitched as if trying to suppress one. He was also stiff, too proper…boring.

If it came down to it, she would try to let him down gently. That is if he didn't force her to marry him.

No, no that was ridiculous. Now she was just jumping to conclusions. He didn't want anything like that. Marriage…she would've laughed had it not been for the Prince's permanent frown bringing her back to reality.

As soon as the dance ended, he gently let go of her waist and hand to step back and dip into a low bow. It was a bow that which was reserved to those who deserved the highest respect. Céline shook off her momentary paralysis to drop into a deep curtsey, lowering her eyes to the ground as she did so. It was the first time she looked away from him since they started dancing.

As she rose back up, the guests around them began to clap. Her ears could also pick up on the sounds of whispering, but with only her human hearing it was impossible to fully decipher.

Prince Gabriel took the step needed to close the distance between them. Céline blinked at him owlishly in response. Shouldn't he be securing another dance partner now?

"Come with me," he coolly commanded and took her hand, before proceeding to lead her out of the ballroom. Her temper flared at his treatment of her, like she was just one of his many servants to follow his orders. But it wasn't like there was anything she could do about it, she didn't have any sort of power over him.

She snuck a peek behind her as they exited out of the large double doors at the end of the ballroom. The last thing she saw before she was tugged away was the displeased looks of Lady Veronique and her parents.

The halls were silent as Prince Gabriel led her through them, yet she had a hunch that somehow he could be even quieter if he wanted to be, like now for instance. Should she ask him where they were going?

She opened her mouth to ask that very question, but didn't get a chance to speak the words. Abruptly he opened a door and pulled her inside, before turning and locking it behind them.

She fidgeted in her stance as she looked up at him in curiosity. Leading her to a room away from everyone else and locking the door? Now she was beginning to get a little nervous.

"You have nothing to fear," he spoke evenly. She supposed it was meant to be comforting, but without any sort of _emotion_ in his tone it came off as cold and unfeeling. "I just want to speak with you."

She quirked a brow. Speak to her? What?

"You mean," she trailed off, trying to piece together this puzzle. "You mean you don't want to drink my blood?"

"Oh, I never said that." Slowly, his lips curled into a wicked smirk. It made a chill go down her spine, a mixture of both fear and…something else. She also couldn't help but notice that he showed her the closest thing to a smile since she first saw him.

He bent down to her eye level, the piercing blue of his eyes never leaving her stunned green.

"In fact, there's almost nothing I desire more. But I won't without your consent."

Just…what was _that_ supposed to mean?!

Abruptly he straightened and walked away, to the little desk that she just now noticed. Taking a look around the little room, with its book-lined shelves, plush red carpet, and desk, she deduced that this was a sort of private study. Prince Gabriel sat in the leather armchair and beckoned her with a nod of his head.

"Please, sit."

She nodded mutely and followed through with the request. Just what in the world could he possibly want to talk with her about?

Once she sat down, he didn't speak right away. Instead he simply stared at her, his eyes travelling over her face and eventually to a lower area. Her lip curled in disgust, and she was about to berate him for it when his attention snapped back to her eyes.

He folded his hands together on top of the desk and sat up straighter, if that was even possible.

"I wish to court you," he stated. No smile, no warmth, no hint or warning beforehand.

Céline's mouth dropped. If she thought she was bewildered by all that had happened so far, she was gravely mistaken. No, _this_ right here took the cake. He wanted to 'court' her? Why?! She never heard any rumors of Prince Gabriel's sanity being questioned, but now she would actively start looking, because she had no doubt that he was a few keys short of a piano.

"I see you're surprised," he observed, just as even in tone as ever. As usual, his eyes betrayed nothing of how he truly felt.

"That's an understatement, Your Highness," she shot back, although just barely. She was still trying to wrap her head around all this.

"About that. You will be allowed to refer to me by my first name, no titles necessary."

In a daring move, she rolled her eyes. "Gee, thanks."

She didn't really care much anymore. At this point she just wanted to go home and face whatever punishment the Bérangers had in mind.

One of Gabriel's eyebrows rose in a rare show of emotion.

"You're not pleased?"

"Pleased?!" she spluttered, grabbing the hem of her gown since she had nothing else to grab onto. "What the hell is even going on?! First you stare at me, and then you practically force me to dance with you, and now you take me here and say you wish to court me! Don't you realize that you're a vampire and I'm a human? More than that, I'm a blood slave! Are you crazy?!"

His eyebrows furrowed as a frown tugged the edges of his mouth downward.

"There's no need to be so overly dramatic, and I can assure you that I am in perfect psychological health. As for your concerns, you have no need to worry about those minor details. As Prince, I may court whomever I want, and I want _you_ , Céline Lemaire."

His eyes slightly darkened toward the end of his speech, and that combined with his words caused an uncommon blush to redden her cheeks. She looked on completely dumbfounded, that is, until she was able to shake it off and focus on the specifics of what he said. He considered their statuses to be 'minor details'?

"It-" she started before she stopped, wanting to be sure she got all her words together. "They're not 'minor details', Your Highness. Blood slaves and vampires don't fraternize with each other, and they especially don't get into a relationship together." Her eyes narrowed in suspicion at the same time her finger pointed to his chest. "And how do you know my full name, anyway?"

Now he just gave her a deadpan look as if he was saying 'really? Did you really just ask me that?'

"I know every noble house's occupants, including their blood slaves. It's one of the requirements for someone of my role. But back to this _minor detail_ you still deem to be a problem. I do not care of the social norms, of vampires typically not courting their blood slaves or any other humans. The only opinion I care about is my father's, who I am sure I can persuade to let me court you."

He raised a finger to his lips, his eyes straying off to the side as he pondered whatever strategy he was going to use. His father might be stubborn, but Gabriel was very skilled at getting what he wanted.

"But what about what _I_ think?" Céline interrupted with an indignant scowl. "What if I don't want you to court me? What if I want nothing to do with you?"

Gabriel pursed his lips. "Is that so? May I ask why?"

" _That_ , for one thing," she pointed out. "It's 1992 and you talk like you're from the 18th century or something! You never asked me to dance, either. You asked Lord Béranger for permission. You didn't care whether or not I wanted to; you had no consideration for my feelings at all. And then there's your personality."

"My personality?" he repeated, his tone having dropped a few degrees in temperature.

" _Yes_ ," she affirmed with narrowed eyes. "You never smiled once. You're stiff and you act like you have a stick shoved up your ass. I want a man who can make me laugh, who's warm, loving, and caring. _Not_ an emotionless robot. I want passion."

"Passion?" He matched her glare with one of his own. "You want _passion_ , hm?"

She opened her mouth to reply in confirmation, when she quickly herself pressed against the wall and Gabriel pinning her wrists on either side of her head. All the breath left her lungs due to the shock of it; she'd completely forgotten about vampires and how they could move faster than the blink of an eye.

She tried to ask him what the hell was he doing, but found her question halted by his mouth.

Her eyes blew wide in astonishment. He was kissing her. Prince Gabriel was kissing her. She was kissing a vampire! It was cold, and rough, as his lips moved against hers, trying to coax a response.

She could admit that he was handsome, but she wasn't interested in him like _that_. And now he just went and kissed her without her permission! Just who did he think he was?

She wriggled around his grip, trying to force him off, but she was no match for his strength. He might not have even registered her movements. His legs were up against her own, so that option wasn't any good either. So she did the only thing she could do. She opened her mouth, then bit down on his lower lip with all the power she had.

Gabriel shouted in pain and jumped back, allowing her room to escape to the door. He glanced up just in time to see her steely look.

"I forgot to mention. In addition to the traits I mentioned before, I also want a _gentleman_. Good-bye, Your Highness."

With that, she opened the door and calmly closed it behind her.

* * *

" _I can't believe he did that! No offense, but your father was an asshole. But if she rejected him, then why is she, you know, your mother? Did he force her to marry him? Did he kidnap her?"_

 _Adrien chuckled. "He was an asshole, I won't argue with you there. But he became better. As for your other questions, you won't know unless I finish the story."_

 _Marinette crossed her arms, doing her best to suppress the childish pout threatening to show. "Fine."_

" _Thank you. Now, let's see, about three days after that…"_

* * *

"No way! Is that the Prince?!"

Céline turned toward her best friend Bernadette in surprise. The feather duster she had been holding lay forgotten on the table as she rushed to join her friend looking out the window. Sure enough, there was a black horse with Prince Gabriel himself sitting atop it, although this time he lacked the official uniform she last saw him in. This time he wore a pair of white riding breeches accompanied with black boots. He also wore a black, long-sleeved jacket, but she doubted that he really needed it since the cold weather was hardly a hindrance to vampires.

But why was he here? To punish her for her behavior in rejecting him? Or just rejecting him in general? She figured that would've been done the day after, yet nothing had happened. She figured it was all over and done with.

Apparently she was wrong.

"Why do you think he's here?" Bernadette whispered, not taking her eyes off the Prince who was getting closer and closer by the second.

"I don't know," Céline quietly replied.

. . .

Neither of them were summoned to assist in serving their masters and Prince Gabriel. Instead they were told to remain in unoccupied rooms, to clean, stay out of sight, and otherwise act like a member of the royal family wasn't a few rooms away from them.

So imagine their surprise when a butler walked into the room they were currently in a requested that Céline may follow him to the main sitting room. Bernadette observed her friend in confusion while Céline merely nodded and began to walk to him. No need in delayed the inevitable.

After he led her to the room he bid her a 'good luck' before turning and returning back to whatever task awaited him. She inhaled a shuddering breath; she would need all the luck she could get for this.

She walked inside and was only slightly taken aback by the absence of the Bérangers. It seemed that Gabriel only wanted to talk to her when they were absolutely alone.

He nodded and she took a seat on the chair opposite of him. For a while neither of them said anything, with Céline content to stare down at her jeans and twist the hem of her shirt around her fingers.

"I'm sorry."

Her head snapped up at the apology, Prince Gabriel's apology. He was frowning, and his eyes were lidded and dulled with shame. He was the very picture of someone who was remorseful, something that she was honestly astonished by. She had the feeling he didn't apologize to anyone very often, and when he did hardly ever meant it.

"My actions that night were inexcusable. I acted out of anger and pain, and you didn't deserve to be forcefully kissed like that."

She stiffened at the word 'kissed', and briefly worried if there was anyone who might be listening. But Gabriel shook his head.

"Don't worry, I ordered them to stay on the other side of the manor until we finished talking. No one will hear a word we say."

She nodded, her mouth expelling a sigh of relief.

"Again, I only wish to apologize for my actions. And," he paused, glancing away from her, "to tell you that you're right."

Her eyebrows knitted into a frown. "Right about what?" She was also still reeling from the fact that this might be the most emotion she has seen from him yet.

"You deserve a man who will make you laugh, and is warm, loving, and caring. You deserve a gentleman, one who will not force his affections on you. I have realized that I am none of those things and I will not keep you against your will, or anything like that. This is the last time you will ever have to see me. I can only hope that one day I shall have your forgiveness."

She stared. She stared and stared, unable to say anything. She was completely stupefied. What _could_ she say to that? He was truly sorry for what he did, he regretted his actions and didn't even ask for her forgiveness. He only wished that one day he would be able to have it. If she was so inclined, she didn't have to consider forgiving him at all.

"I will be taking my leave now," he announced, interrupting the swirling mass of questions in her mind and stood. He bowed low and without another word began to walk away.

She knew that once he walked out that door, she would likely never see him again, just as he promised. Yet instead of the happiness she expected, she felt conflicted. He regretted how he acted, and sought her out just to apologize and assure her that she would never have to look at him ever again. She _should_ be happy, so why wasn't she?

Something nagged at her to stop him, to give him a second chance. Her mother used to tell her to give people second chances if they were truly sorry for how they earlier behaved, before she was taken away from her family. But could that apply to here, too?

She heard the twisting of the doorknob. It was either speak now or be silent forever.

"Wait!"

She heard him pause. Inwardly she prayed she wasn't making the wrong decision.

"You said you don't believe you're warm, loving, or caring, and that you can't make me laugh. You also implied that you're not a gentleman. Do you believe that?"

She heard an almost inaudible breath leave his nose.

"I don't know."

He was doubting himself now. The Prince was insecure?

"Well…" she trailed off, heaving a sigh of her own. "Maybe if, we can keep seeing each other, I can determine that for myself."

He took the steps needed to stand beside the chair she was sitting him. She peered up at him, trying to distinguish whatever he was feeling in his eyes. For the first time, she could detect something in their warmed depths: hope.

"Are you sure?" he murmured, and she was made aware that this was her final chance to change her mind and cast him out of her life forever.

She nodded.

"I'm sure."

* * *

 **I've wanted to write this for a while, so I'm happy to finally have it out there lol. Next chapter Adrien will wrap up the story.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

" _So, she gave him a second chance? Is that when she started to like him?"_

 _A grin tugged at the corner of his mouth._

" _Maybe you'll find out if you let me finish the story."_

* * *

At first, Céline was nervous over what the Bérangers would have to say if Gabriel always visited her. They wouldn't too happy if their blood slave was receiving the attentions of the Crown Prince instead of their own noble-born daughter. But Gabriel readily assured her that there would be no trouble, because he was the Prince and if they defied him then they could be charged with treason.

Céline gaped at that and tried to tell him that was too extreme of a punishment. Yet when she expressed her concerns, he merely took both of her hands in his and said that he would do what it took for them not to be apart.

The implications of those words, and the way he said them like a promise, it was too much too soon. She knew that. Even still, her heart began to pound in her chest like a beating drum. She wondered if he could hear that, and understand what it meant. She internally cringed; that would be so embarrassing.

She externally cringed when his knowing grin confirmed her fears.

At least he had the decency not to say anything about it.

Céline shook it off and asked him again if they could see each other without her masters finding out about it. He couldn't be there all the time, she didn't want to deal with the questions and judging stares. It would be better if they didn't know.

Gabriel's eyes softened at her pleas. He reminded himself that he was lucky she was willing to give him a second chance at all. She could've smashed his heart into pieces and sent him on his way. Instead, she was asking him for another way they could see each other than what he first suggested and he just outright refused her. He chided himself for this almost-fatal error and was quick to accept her request.

Since the family was mostly active at nighttime, the blood slaves were required to sleep during the day. Gabriel said this would be when he would come to see her.

Céline furrowed her eyebrows and tilted her head at that, confused since she knew that vampires burned in the sunlight.

At her questioning of this he grinned and pointed to the tiny purple brooch that sat just under the collar of his shirt. It was barely noticeable, and she just assumed that it was merely a simple gem for decoration. He certainly had enough wealth to have it. Apparently, that wasn't the case at all.

He held a flap of his coat and gently pulled it open.

"Come out, Nooroo," he quietly called.

Her eyes flickered between the coat and Gabriel's face, wondering if he had lost his mind. He said he was in perfect psychological health back at the castle…then again isn't that what a crazy person _would_ say?

Turned out Gabriel wasn't crazy at all. A small, light purple creature with large wings on its back flew up to her face, causing her to jump in her seat and emit a small shriek of fright. She had never seen something like this before, so she had every right to be slightly scared.

The creature flew back and bowed its head.

"Hello, Céline. I'm Nooroo, Prince Gabriel's kwami. It's a pleasure to meet you," he spoke in a high-pitched, albeit adorable, voice. In fact, now that she observed him properly, the kwami (as he called himself) was extremely adorable. He even had purple eyes and a purple swirl on his head like a curl of hair!

She felt her heart bursting with how cute Nooroo was. With a gasp she scooped him up in her hands and rubbed her cheek against his tiny head. He gave a surprised squeak at first, but warmed up to the affection in no time and returned her nuzzle.

"You are just the cutest thing I've ever seen!" she gushed, planting a kiss to the center of the purple swirl on his head. She continued lavishing more praises and kisses to the kwami, with Nooroo accepting it all with a large smile and closed eyes as he relished in the affection. He never got this much attention from his holder, all he ever got from Gabriel was a smile and occasionally a scratch on the head.

He didn't know how his stoic chosen and this obviously warm, bright and happy woman could be together. Moreover, he had no idea why Gabriel was attracted to someone so different from himself in the first place. But who was he to question it, especially when he could get attention like this every day if it all worked out in the end?

When Céline remembered she had an audience, her head snapped up to see Gabriel sitting with his head tilted and a broad, soft smile on his face. It was the first time he had ever given her a true smile.

She didn't know why he didn't do it more often. It was quite lovely to look at. She supposed the rarity of such a display also helped to make the smile more valuable.

"Nooroo is attached to my brooch, which is called a 'miraculous'," he explained after a minute. Luckily, the smile didn't completely drop from his features as he spoke. "When activated it puts me in protective clothing so the sun won't affect me. I'll be able to see you no matter what time of day I come."

* * *

" _And that's how it began. They set up a time and my mother told him exactly where her room was so he could visit her."_

 _Marinette fondly smiled, this was actually turning out to be quite romantic. She wished she could have something like that._

 _She stiffened and felt her cheeks heat up when she remembered that she did technically have 'something like that'. Adrien visited her nightly, with full intentions of pursuing her and winning her heart. She was the only one who was holding back._

 _Gabriel did roughly the same thing. Céline held back, just like she was doing now. But they still ended up together._

" _Marinette? Are you alright?" Adrien questioned in concern, glancing over her form in case she had an injury he might've missed. His gaze strayed to her flushed cheeks. "You look warm. Are you sick? I can go get you medicine if you want."_

 _She shook her head, her mind practically crying because of how caring and considerate Adrien was. She didn't deserve someone like him._

" _I'm fine, thanks Adrien." She peered up at him with hopeful eyes and a reassuring smile. "Can you continue the story now?"_

 _His eyes stayed concentrated on her cheeks, otherwise he made no acknowledgement that he even heard her. She opened her mouth to ask what was wrong, but snapped it shut when he wordlessly reached out a hand and placed it on her forehead._

 _She started at the sudden cool temperature, as she always did whenever he touched her. But seconds later she relaxed into it, although she was sure to raise an eyebrow and grin at his silly behavior._

 _He retracted his hand with a sure smile. "Just checking. It doesn't feel like you have a fever."_

" _Thank you, Dr. Agreste," she replied sarcastically with a laugh. "But come on, I told you I was fine."_

" _You can't be too sure about these things," he insisted with a shrug of his shoulders and a lazy grin. "Your health and safety are my top priorities, Princess."_

 _Marinette stared with her eyes wide open and her heart doing a curious quickened beat. What was she supposed to say to that?_

 _If Adrien took notice of her change in demeanor, he didn't comment on it._

" _Let's see," he mused. "I suppose I can skip ahead a little bit…"_

* * *

Céline waited anxiously for the Gabriel's secret arrival. She could still scarcely believe that this was even happening at all. A blood slave and a vampire prince…if they did wind up becoming lovers, then they would be quite the pair, indeed.

What would this end up meaning for her, though? Did he just want a temporary relationship? Or something more? It wasn't like they could get married, right?

She took a deep breath to steel her nerves before letting it out.

This was nonsense, she shouldn't be thinking like this. She wasn't even sure if she wanted a relationship with him, she just wanted to get to know him better. That's all.

She was brought out of her thoughts when she heard a distinct tapping sound against her window.

Céline held her breath, almost wanting it to not be him. What if she made the wrong choice?

The tapping sound was heard again, with a bit more force applied than last time.

She released a calming breath and stepped onto the wooden floor. Barefoot, she walked over to the old window and with a grunt wrenched it open. However, the sight that greeted her caused her mouth to drop in shock.

"Get away!" she shrieked at the silver-masked intruder, making a move to push him off her window sill that he was holding onto. Unfortunately, he already saw it coming and snatched her hand in his black gloved one. His stormy eyes were narrowed and a scowl twisted his lips. Her heart picked up its pace in fright, as he still held her wrist captive. He could probably snap it if he wished.

"Céline, it's me," he said, sounding a tad annoyed. "Gabriel."

She paled and tried to take back her hand, which he picked up on and as a result let go of it. No wonder why he was vexed, she just tried to push him off the side of the manor!

"Gabriel?! I-I'm so sorry, I couldn't tell it was you. It's just the mask…and-and the outfit…"

In all honesty, he looked like a cliché supervillain on one of those children's superhero shows. Was this the costume he told her about that allowed him to go out in the daytime?

Gabriel lifted himself inside, something that would normally be challenging for a normal human being, but the vampire was able to do it with ease. He immediately turned around and closed the thick, black curtains, encasing the room in darkness. The only light available was a small candle she had the foresight to light.

"Nooroo, wings fall."

Céline watched, completely in awe, as a purple light washed over him. Gone was the silly costume, and in its place were khaki pants and a dark blue button-down shirt. Her eyes strayed over to Nooroo, who hovered over his master's shoulder. The little kwami softly smiled and bowed his head, before flying past her and out of the room.

"Nooroo!" she gasped, whipping around to face the door. What if one of the Bérangers saw him? "Gabriel, we have to-!"

"It's alright, Céline," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder to calm her. In return, she gave him a skeptical look. How was this possibly 'alright'? "Nooroo knows how to stay hidden."

"Did you forget that the Bérangers are vampires?" she hissed, not at all satisfied with the way this night was shaping up to be. Gabriel might be more trouble than what he was worth. "They can sense everything!"

Gabriel cracked a tiny, amused grin.

"Contrary to what you may think, my dear, vampires cannot sense everything in this world. If something is truly well-hidden, the vampire likely won't find it. You can relax."

Relax, huh? Coming from the guy dressed so formally all the time, and even now?

She peeked back at her bedroom door, where she last saw the little kwami. He was a fast flyer, and Gabriel didn't seem worried about it at all. Maybe she should relax a little bit.

Meanwhile, Gabriel slightly shifted on his feet, the only indication to his trepidation. In all honesty, he had no clue was he doing. He didn't know the first thing about wooing a woman. He knew that one day as King, he would have a queen to rule by his side, but he always figured it would've been arranged by his father beforehand. No romance necessary. He would rule over the vampires of his country with whoever was picked to be Queen and have an heir.

He never thought he would be at this point. Placing his fate in the hands of a human, but more than that, a blood slave. He never entertained the possibility of ever being so entranced by someone, that they haunted his mind every waking hour with memories of fierce green eyes, flowing blonde hair, and lips practically calling out for him to kiss. He never thought that he would ever have these feelings. He had scoffed at other men for experiencing them.

Now he wished that he asked them for advice. He almost lost the opportunity of being with Céline; he couldn't afford to make another mistake that could prove fatal.

He cleared his throat, even though vampires never had to. They were made to be perfect, flawless, and impervious to minor things such as needing to clear one's throat. He didn't know why he even did it.

Now she was looking at him, waiting for whatever it was he was going to say. He thought hard; she didn't want to just dive into a relationship with him. She didn't even know if she could like him the way he wanted her to. Perhaps he should treat this as two people meeting for the first time and looking for something in common? Yes, that could be it.

"So, why don't you tell me about yourself?" he asked. No sooner had the question left his mouth that he internally winced. That was a stupid question, not at all exciting. What if she was bored of him already? She already said that she didn't like his personality.

He tried not to dwell on that last memory.

Céline blinked as if she couldn't believe he asked that. Abruptly the bemused look faded and a scornful curve of her lips took its place.

"There's really not all that much. I was kidnapped when I was five and sold to Lady Beatrice's family. When she married Lord Béranger, I was part of the deal and forced to move in with them. I didn't really care whether or not I would be forced to go, to be honest. My blood would've been drunk no matter if I had stayed or left."

Gabriel frowned. He never really thought about what a blood slave must go through in their daily lives. To vampires, they were just mainly considered to be a fresh form of food. His father had a few, but he himself preferred to go out into the night and get some the old-fashioned way. As a result, he never really paid much attention to them.

Perhaps he should've taken a closer look.

She shrugged her shoulders. "That's basically it for me."

He shook his head, refusing to believe that. She was much more than a blood slave, and he would personally see to it that she saw it one day.

"That can't be it. What about your favorite color? Food? Animal?" He was interested in hearing them all. He couldn't help but mentally note that he never was intrigued with such trivial matters in another person before. Of course that changed when he met Céline.

She crossed her arms together, apparently feeling awkward with the questions. It's been so long since someone cared enough to ask her those things. She never really thought of them anyway, since her life was always the same, monotonous routine of cleaning, eating, and having to surrender her blood.

"My favorite color is green," she started, going with the easiest thing to answer first. Gabriel mentally filed that little bit of information away for later usage. "I like soupe à l'oignon, and I like birds."

He raised an eyebrow. "Birds?"

She nodded, a smile slowly making its way across her face. "Yeah, birds. All kinds. Especially peacocks, they're so beautiful." All of a sudden she paused and began to giggle, piquing Gabriel's curiosity.

"What is it?"

Her amusement subsided so that she could answer, but the grin of hers remained.

"I like birds, but I'm allergic to feathers. Isn't that ironic?"

Gabriel's lips quirked up as a particular mischievous glint came over his eyes. She hadn't seen him make an expression like that up until that point, and she would be lying if she said it wasn't hot.

And then he opened his mouth.

" _Owl_ say it is ironic."

Silence.

* * *

" _O_ _h my God, he actually said that?" Marinette laughed. "That was terrible."_

" _I didn't think it was so fowl," Adrien replied smoothly, shooting her a wink complete with a set of finger guns._

 _Marinette sighed._

* * *

Céline blinked, absolutely stunned. Although she wasn't sure what she was more surprised about, the fact that he made a pun or the pun in itself was so bad.

"What's wrong? Don't you like puns?" Gabriel asked, obviously trying to hold back a laugh. Again, she couldn't help but being at least a little taken aback. This Gabriel was a stark contrast to the serious, stoic one she met back at the castle. Here, wasn't so much of a robot. He actually had a personality.

She shook her head. "No, especially not ones as horrible as that."

Gabriel merely grinned at her lack of amusement.

"Well, usually I have better ones. But it's kind of hard to just _wing_ it."

She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Stop it."

"No, I think I still have a few more in the _nest_. Wow, _hoot_ have thought I had it in me to think of so many puns? Well, I guess _wren_ push comes to shove…"

"Oh my God, you're terrible," Céline laughed, unable to hold it in any longer. Thispun-spewing dork was the Prince of Vampires? Did someone kidnap Gabriel and instead a clone visited her tonight?

Or maybe this was how he really was, when he was at ease and didn't have to worry about having his every move judged.

Gabriel straightened, positively preening that he made her laugh. He already accomplished one of the qualifications she specified for a future husband, overall he'd say he was off to a pretty good start.

…

And it was a good start. Gabriel visited her every day for weeks, which inevitably brought the two of them closer. They talked about mundane things, interesting things, shared secrets…and the Bérangers were none the wiser.

Recently her heart started to beat a little faster whenever he would come to visit. It was like he was an entirely different man from the one she originally met all those nights ago. He was warm (not temperature-wise), caring, and his puns were kind of funny, even though she hated to admit it. He was actually charming, dammit. A part of her was angry about this new development to his character, while the other, larger part, reveled in it.

So when he asked for her permission to kiss her hand, she gladly let him. And when he asked if he could have the pleasure of kissing her lips as well…she found herself unable to refuse him.

This was dangerous, she knew.

 _Dangerous,_ her mind whispered as his hands trailed their way up her back.

 _Reckless_ , as his lips kissed above her pulse point.

 _Mad_ , as a breathy sigh escaped her past her mouth.

Really, what would come of this odd relationship they had? Did he wish to marry her? Use her for now until he found another vampire to marry? He was a prince, it was only logical that he would want to truly be with a princess.

She wound up getting her answer the next day.

…

Céline winced at her reflection in the smudged mirror. Earlier that night, she had to endure another one of Lord Béranger's attempts of flirtation while he drank from her. Instead of meekly turning him down like she previously had done, this time she gave him a rather strong refusal.

He didn't take too kindly to being called a 'perverted, blood-sucking leech'. As a result, he ripped his fangs from her throat, effectively paining her so much she fell to her knees. He didn't see that as enough punishment, though. No, he picked her up by the hair and slapped her so hard her left cheek was swollen and mottled with purple marks. The bottom of her eye was swollen as well, it hurt to even touch it with one of her fingers. He probably broke a bone.

There was no way she could hide this from Gabriel. Unless she convinced him not to come in her room, that is.

When she heard the soft tap from the window, the signal to his arrival, all hell broke loose in her brain as she scrambled to think of a way to make him leave.

"Uh, I'm not home!" she called out whilst frantically searching for something to cover her face.

"Céline, I just heard you," his muffled voice replied, sounding a bit amused. "Can I come in?"

"No!"

A pause. For a moment, she thought he had left. But when she about to exhale in relief, he spoke again, confirming that he was still there.

"Why not? Are you alright? What's wrong?"

"Noth-nothing's wrong!" she insisted, picking up a promising brown paper bag. "I'm fine!"

"Then why can't I come in?" Her heart tugged painfully at how broken he sounded. "Do…do you wish not to see me anymore?"

"No!" she answered quickly, trying to make that disappointed tone of his go away. "I just look terrible, that's it. I don't want you to see me like this."

"I'm sure you look as breathtaking as ever," he replied lightly, prompting a new flush to wash over her cheeks and her heart to beat just a bit faster. "Whatever it is you're worrying about, I'm sure it's nothing."

And with that, the window slid open.

She just managed to slap the bag over her head as he hauled himself completely inside.

"Céline?" she heard him question, accompanied by footsteps taken to be closer to her. "Why do you have a bag over your head?"

"I told you," she mumbled, glancing away. "I look hideous. So please leave."

"And I told you that I'm sure you do not," he replied with a chuckle. "Come on," he prompted, and she sensed that he was right in front of her now. "Take off the bag, my darling."

Slowly, ever so slowly, she inched the bag off her head, but not without placing her hand directly against the left side of her face.

"There, see!" she chirped brightly, smiling widely as if nothing was amiss. "I look bad. Now, if you would just-"

"Céline," he interrupted, quieting her. His stormy eyes were narrowed, full of suspicion. "Put down your hand."

She didn't want to see his reaction. She closed her eyes and bent her head, then steadily let down her hand to her side.

She kept her eyes closed as she felt his index finger on her chin, gently tilting her head up. She heard a sharp intake of breath, followed by a growl.

"Who did this?" he seethed, but she only squeezed her eyes shut tighter. "Céline, tell me who did this!"

"It doesn't matter," she mumbled. And it was true. The person who struck her owned every aspect of her life, it didn't matter how he treated her.

"It matters to _me_ ," he hissed. "Look at me."

When she didn't move, he repeated the order.

"Céline, look at me. Please."

She forced her eyes open. As she did, she saw how his eyes, narrowed and livid, were glowing a brighter blue. She didn't even know vampire eyes could glow.

"Are your eyes glowing?" she asked off-handedly.

"Tell me who did this," he demanded again, ignoring her question entirely. "Who was it? Gaspard? Beatrice? Veronique? A butler? Who?!"

"It doesn't-"

"It _does_ matter!" he snapped, taking hold of her shoulders. For the first time since the ball, she was actually afraid of him. He must've sensed her fear, for immediately afterward he released her and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to calm himself.

This time when he opened them, they looked purely distraught. When he took her by the shoulders again, it was by a much more gentle approach. Wordlessly, he brought his mouth down to her neck and licked the two, previously unhealed puncture wounds, before planting a kiss to the newly-healed flesh.

He brought his head back up to look directly at her. She glanced away in shame, as he brought up a finger to just below her eye. She hissed as he applied a tiny bit of pressure, prompting him to snatch his finger away.

"I can't heal internal wounds by licking them," he murmured, and she nodded her understanding. She would have to endure this for however long it took to naturally heal.

"You'll have to drink my blood."

She snapped her head back to look at him in shock. Drink his blood?!

"But won't it turn me into a vampire or something?" she questioned worriedly. She didn't want to become a vampire anytime soon.

"No, the toxin is in the fangs. My blood will only heal you," he answered solemnly, the frown of his lips and the serious look in his eyes indicating that he was telling the truth. She believed him, but she was still wary of just how she would be able to drink his blood. He would have to have an injury or something, right?

Gabriel raised his wrist to his mouth, keeping his gaze trained on Céline the entire time. Her ears picked up a distinct snapping sound, drawing out a wince from her. The noise sounded so sick and painful, yet he didn't even flinch.

When he removed his wrist from his mouth, her mystified stare zeroed in on the two lines of dark, red blood seeping from the self-inflicted bite. He wasn't actually planning for her to-?

"Drink," he ordered in a low murmur, guiding his wrist closer to her mouth. She grimaced and leaned her head away; she couldn't drink his blood! That was gross, and scary, and something that a normal human being didn't do.

"Céline, please," he begged, now using his other hand to cup the back of her head, probably in an effort to prevent her from trying to escape. "It will heal you, I promise. You only need a little bit."

Her lips screwed together in a stubborn pout. What did it even taste like? Death? She was perfectly fine with waiting for her injuries to heal naturally, in that case.

His wrist now rested against her lips. All she would have to do is dart her tongue out to taste the red liquid slowly trickling its way out of the vein.

"Drink," he prompted again, yet he only succeeded in making her shake her head vigorously back and forth in outright refusal. He sighed; sometimes he wished he didn't fall in love with a woman who could be so hard to persuade.

But he was very skilled in getting what he wanted, and he wasn't about to surrender now.

His fingers in her hair slightly curled, so that the golden strands were in between the digits.

"I could simply compel you to do it, you know," he pointed out, making sure to look deeply in her eyes as he said it. "You would do anything I asked of you."

"But you won't," she replied in a whisper, her cautious gaze still pinned to the trails of blood that was still oozing out of his bite. "You know I'd never forgive you for manipulating my mind."

He leaned closer to her ear, so that his lips were placed just at the shell.

"I could make you forget," he continued, shifting his voice to a husky tone he often used when enticing his prey. The mortal he targeted would go weak in the knees upon hearing it, usually agreeing to whatever it was he wanted with no further protest. He hoped Céline would react in a similar way.

His lips curved into a smug grin as he heard her breath hitch. Just one more little push.

"Drink, my darling." He punctuated the words by pressing his wrist to her mouth with a gentle push. "I'd rather not have my Loved One in pain."

The resulting gasp that tore out of her throat was enough of an opening. He lightly tugged down on her hair, bringing her neck up in the process. He tilted his wrist and before she could make any sort of retaliation, watching with satisfaction as a single drop of blood landed on her tongue.

Her eyes widened as she let out another gasp, most likely in disbelief at what happened. For a few moments she didn't move, utterly still in his arms as he still held his wrist to her mouth. He felt fear spike inside him; was she in shock? Angry? He didn't want to force her, but it was the only way she could be properly healed. The Bérangers weren't likely to take her to a doctor if they haven't done so already.

Imagine his surprise when she abruptly grabbed his hand with both of hers and latched her mouth to his wrist, before sucking on the wound to get as much blood as she could.

Céline involuntarily moaned at the exquisite taste, the ensuing noise of Gabriel shifting in his stance mere background noise in her mind. His blood tasted so sweet, not in the sense of dessert, but something otherwise completely foreign. She couldn't get enough. And to think at first she was completely against this! If she had known, she wouldn't have even hesitated.

She felt his fingers ghost over her injured cheek, to just below her eye, along the bone there. She continued on as if it hadn't happened, not even registering that she didn't feel a bit of pain from his touch.

"Alright, my darling, I think that's enough," Gabriel said, trying to tug his hand free. She whined in disappointment, but made sure to lick the last few drops she could before she completely released him.

She didn't take notice of the way his eyes briefly darkened as her tongue flicked against his wrist. However, it wasn't very long before the irises faded back to their normal color. Without another second to waste he took his hand back, licking the puncture marks closed to stop the blood flow.

Céline slowly blinked, as if just coming out of a daze. When her eyes refocused, her peeved glare landed straight onto Gabriel.

"Did you compel me to drink your blood?" she accused, already half-convinced that her suspicion was true. "I told you I'd never forgive you for doing that."

He shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"You're welcome for healing you, by the way. As for your question, no, I didn't compel you. You drank my blood by your own volition."

"No, you tilted my head back and pressed your wrist to my mouth!" she retorted, pointing a finger at him. She wouldn't dare admit to being actually thankful that he was willing to share his blood in order to heal her. "And you seduced me to get to that point!"

"I didn't have much of a choice, Céline," he hissed, matching her glare with an annoyed scowl. "Would you have rather me leave you to your orbital fracture and bruised cheek? To wait weeks for it to heal on its own? You're my Loved One, you should never feel any amount of pain. This should never have even happened in the first place!"

"And that!" she pointed out, "you called me your 'Loved One'. That's not true. We're not-" she faltered, finishing the next words in a whisper. "-together, like that."

He felt the sharp sting of rejection, but only straightened his stance in response. He couldn't look weak.

"Oh no? Then what is this we have right now?" he coolly asked.

"It's just a fling for you, isn't it?" she replied, her voice sounding smaller. Her gaze strayed to the side before looking back at him. "Just to have some fun before a vampire princess comes along, right?"

He took the steps needed to close the distance between them. Without a word he brought a finger under her chin to tilt her head up, effectively causing her to meet his earnest gaze.

"Céline, I don't have 'flings'. I don't spend my time with other women, only to wait for the next best thing. Not only would it be a waste of my time, but I simply have no interest in pursuing anyone other than the one I know I'm meant to be with. All of this has been real, every moment."

His lips pressed into a tight line, and for a second she thought that he actually looked frightened.

"I love you," he finally forced out, monotonous but after talking with him for so many nights, she could detect the sincerity in his voice.

And honestly, that scared her.

"I love you, Céline. I don't care that you're a blood slave and I'm a vampire. I love you."

Never before had he felt so vulnerable. The truth was finally laid out; it was up to her for what she did with it.

* * *

 **I know I said that Adrien would wrap this up in the next chapter, but I underestimated how much longer Gabriel and Céline's story would go. Hopefully next chapter Adrien will end it xD**

 **Also, I felt I should point out that the story Adrien is telling is more like a summary with some details here and there. He doesn't really know about the kissing parts, since I don't think a parent would go that much into detail about them with their child xD**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

Céline's breath caught in her throat. Her lips parted as she peered up at him in shock. She felt numb, and when she blinked she thought that she would wake up to discover that everything that had transpired this night, especially that confession, would have all been a dream.

It's not that she was disgusted. On the contrary, she felt something inside her begin to warm at the knowledge of Gabriel having fallen in love with her at some point during their clandestine meetings.

She just wasn't sure how _she_ felt in return. She deeply cared for him, and certainly liked him well enough to kiss him, but love? She had never been in love before. No one ever told her how it felt. As a blood slave, her only purpose in life was to give blood to her vampire owners. Why would someone ever talk of things such as love to her? Even Lord Béranger never expressed the sentiment; he was strictly interested in her blood and body. He felt lust for her, but love? Definitely not.

Then there was Gabriel. Unlike Lord Béranger, she knew he truly loved her. She could tell by the way his eyes shined and how his voice slightly shook towards the end of his declaration. He was apprehensive of her reaction, fearing rejection.

She didn't want to reject him, yet she didn't want to say she returned his feelings. She had no idea what to tell him without hurting his feelings in the process.

"It's alright," he abruptly murmured, throwing her out of her conflicting thoughts. A corner of his mouth quirked up in a half-smile, in spite of his stormy blue eyes reflecting his inner despondency due to her lack of the response he hoped for.

"You don't have to give me an answer now. I don't want to pressure you, Céline. If you do love me, I want you to say it when you mean it and are comfortable doing so." He paused, the smile he bore dropping into a frown. "If you don't, then…then I will accept that. I just want you to be happy."

She didn't know what to say. Who would know how to respond to that? She wanted to thank him, to tell him how considerate he was for not coercing her to say that she did, in fact, return his feelings. She heard gossip of vampire men who were not nearly as patient when pursuing women.

Something squeezed in her chest when he offered her a small smile before he turned away. She watched in a mixture of confusion and something else-disappointment?-as he sat down on her less-than-comfortable mattress that was surely older than herself. Hell, it was probably older than the King.

Not wanting to awkwardly stand in the center of the room, she followed suit and wordlessly sat down next to him. She didn't look at him, though. Instead, she bided her time by keeping her head down and looking at her clasped hands on her lap.

After a while of nothing but silence, she heard Gabriel draw in a long breath. She picked her head up to look at him due to the noise, only to see that his hands were clenched into trembling fists and his eyes were closed. His mouth was set in an angry grimace and Céline wondered if he was finally showing the previously hidden fury at exactly being rejected, but not accepted either.

When he next looked at her, his eyes was colder than she had ever seen them.

"Céline, I want you to tell me exactly who it was that hurt you."

She froze. Honestly, she thought that he had forgotten about that, what with the love confession and all. She inwardly scoffed; figures that Gabriel had no trouble getting right back on track to the root of a problem.

"Please don't," she mumbled, glancing away from that piercing gaze that almost compelled her to tell the truth. "Please don't intervene. It'll only make things worse."

"You can't expect me to just turn a blind eye to this!" he hissed, accompanied by an ensuing growl. "Tell me who did this, Céline. I won't ask you again."

"Are you threatening me, now?" she asked dryly, giving him a flat look. "You aren't going to be very successful with me, in that case."

Gabriel groaned, pressing his fingers to the bridge of his nose in clear aggravation.

"I'm not threatening you," he said in a softer tone. "I would just like to know the name of the one who injured you."

"I can't," she stressed in anxious exasperation, her heart beating madly just imagining the consequences for her should Gabriel follow through on any sort of revenge act. "Please, it'll only hurt _me_ in the end. He'll take out his anger on me and-"

She stopped, her eyes widening as she realized what she had done. She may not have told him who hurt her, but she dropped a big hint to her attacker's identity.

And by the way Gabriel shifted and sat straighter, he knew it too.

She stared in growing horror as she could practically _see_ the gears working in his mind. He was probably figuring out that a butler couldn't do this to her; they likely wouldn't have a reason to. Also, if they did, they wouldn't go for just one side of her face. If they hit her, they surely wouldn't focus on only one half of her face.

Which could only mean that her injuries had to be caused by one hit. And the only male who had enough strength in the house to deal that kind of damage with only one hit was…

"Gaspard," Gabriel growled lowly, jaw clenched. She bit her lip with worry when she saw his body begin to tremble with barely suppressed rage. She had to admit, she was mildly impressed he had such good control of his temper, because Lord knows she was terrible at holding her own back.

He stood suddenly, and with a sharp whisper called out for Nooroo. Anxiety clawed at her insides as she saw the purple kwami fly inside the room moments later, and in a flash Gabriel was dressed in his purple costume.

"Gabriel, don't do anything rash," she begged, standing and rushing to place herself in front of him. She placed her hands on his chest and stared up into his eyes, hoping in some way she would be able to dissuade him from acting out on his anger. "Please, Lord Béranger will only do something worse if you interfere."

"Then I'll simply tell him not to do something as stupid as that," he replied lightly, his mouth not lifting from the hard frown as he pulled his glove, securing it tighter. "He'll never lay another hand on you if he values his life."

"But he'll tell his family," she urged, her fear escalating so much it was beginning to show in her voice, as high and shaky as it was. "Don't do it! There isn't a need for this; I'm fine! You don't have to do anything."

Gabriel narrowed his eyes, his gaze telling her that her words didn't even make a dent in his resolve.

"And if I act on my intentions, then you _will_ be fine. If he tells his family, then they will also know not to touch you. I don't see why you're so against this."

"Because I'll be punished in _some_ way!" she snapped, gripping his jacket in new desperation. "You don't think that Lord Béranger won't somehow find a way to make my life miserable if you do something to him? If you truly love me Gabriel, you won't threaten him in any way."

Hot tears began to trail down her cheeks, causing the vampire to grimace. He loathed seeing his Loved One so distressed; it was his obligation for her to always be happy, carefree, and safe. Not for her to be in this wild, sobbing, state of despair.

But he couldn't let Gaspard walk away from this, either. He hurt Céline, he could've killed her if he hit her hard enough. Gabriel couldn't let him get away with that. If Gaspard suffered no consequences, then he would think that it would be okay to hit Céline whenever he wished.

And _that,_ that _never_ going to happen. He'd kill anyone who'd try.

Yet she was crying and begging him not to do anything. There had to be a way to give her peace of mind while also taking care of the situation.

An idea came to his mind. He didn't like it, but at this point he didn't see any alternative.

"Alright," he murmured, forcing himself to calm down for her sake and his plan's. He tenderly stroked her hair, bending down to press a kiss to the crown of her head. "I won't do anything to him."

Céline paused, picking her head up from his chest. He noted the way tears still glistened in her eyes and his something in his chest painfully squeeze.

"Do you promise?" she whispered, in a way that betrayed her doubt. "Do you promise not to hurt him?"

Another painful tug for the lie that was about to tumble out of his mouth.

"Yes."

She smiled and exhaled in relief. Her arms wrapped around him in a tight hug, her eyes closing as she pressed her cheek to his chest. He embraced her in return with a frown she had no idea of.

"Thank you. I promise, I'll be fine."

Gabriel held her tighter.

 _Yes, and I will make sure of that._

* * *

" _What did he do?" Marinette asked, fidgeting uncomfortably._

 _Adrien shrugged as a sardonic smile came to his lips._

" _I don't know exactly. Father said it was something a child should never hear."_

 _Marinette bit her lip as the implications of that statement settled in._

 _Her voice was a trepid whisper. "Did he kill him?"_

 _Adrien shook his head. "No, he didn't kill him. Just…roughed him up a bit, I suppose."_

" _But didn't his family notice? And your mother?"_

 _Adrien's smile turned something sort of wicked._

" _Vampires can heal themselves pretty quickly, but with some cases it can take days for something to completely heal, depending on how bad of an injury it is. In Gaspard's case, my father only went for places that wouldn't be noticeable to an untrained eye."_

 _Marinette shivered, for a moment wondering if Adrien could ever do something like that. Until she remembered that he would indeed do something like that. She didn't forget when he threatened to rip the bartender's head off the night she discovered that Adrien was a vampire._

 _As if sensing her inner realization, Adrien took her hand and pressed a gentle kiss to her fingers. It was a kiss that she otherwise wouldn't think a man who had the capacity to be so violent in the blink of an eye, just because of someone hurting her, could do._

" _If someone ever made the mistake of harming you, Marinette, they wouldn't walk away unscathed. That I promise."_

 _His voice and eyes were hardened, the weight of his vow inducing Marinette's breath to hitch. He wasn't lying. She knew he wasn't lying._

 _She swallowed, unsure of whether to be touched by that declaration, or afraid for the figurative person to hurt her and thereafter face Adrien's retribution._

* * *

Céline didn't know what had happened in the span of the rest of the day and the following night that warranted such a change in Lord Béranger's behavior. It was as if he was now walking on eggshells around her, as if he was _wary_ of her.

He sought her out while she was cleaning the staircase and actually _apologized_ for hitting her the previous night. She immediately suspected that this was Gabriel's doing, but she dismissed the feeling when she remembered that he promised not to do anything. She didn't believe that he could so blatantly lie to her to her face. Perhaps Lord Béranger had a change of heart?

She had to admit that the very idea was far-fetched, but she didn't have anything else to go on. Although she did think it was quite odd when he didn't question why her face was suddenly healed, something that should've taken weeks when in actuality it only took seconds.

Other than that, nothing else out of the ordinary occurred. She did her daily chores, ate in the kitchen, and did whatever menial tasks Lady Beatrice and Lady Veronique commanded of her. All day she marveled at how not once Lord Béranger demanded to drink from her, eventually going into her room for the day with the same recurring thoughts.

Maybe he was feeling awkward around her after the apology? Maybe he found some kindness in his dead heart and opted to gift her with a day off from having her blood taken from her? She could get used to days like that more often.

When Gabriel visited, he was pleased to see his Loved One grinning from ear to ear. He concluded that she must not have found out about his… _persuasion_ in making Gaspard not to touch her ever again.

" _Because if I see one more mark on her, even the slightest scratch, I will string you up by your nerve tendons and personally watch as you slowly burn in the sun."_

The ensuing quiver of pure terror from the imbecile was only too satisfying to see. He had to admit, that was one of his best threats yet, especially since he didn't threaten a lot of people. He could get a bit creative when he wanted to be. And the best part was that Gaspard had no idea that it was the Crown Prince that had sneaked into his study, shoved him against the wall and held him by the throat, and threatened his life. He wore the costume the Miraculous gifted him with the entire time, his face being obscured to the point where it was almost impossible to identify him. Gaspard had merely assumed that he was a rogue vampire who had taken an interest in his blood slave.

All in all, he covered his tracks quite nicely. If everything went according to plan, Céline would never know that he broke his promise to her.

The reminder of that sent another jolt of guilt into his mind, before he dismissed it and chose to focus instead on Céline's bright and exquisite green eyes. Breaking his promise to her was for the best; now she would never get hit again. He'd rather lie for the greater good than tell the truth and let things continue as they were.

"You seem to be in a good mood," he observed with a twitch of his lips. He had almost never genuinely smiled since he was a child. Yet each time he came to visit her, the urge for his lips to tug upward became more and more prominent.

"I just had a better day than usual," she replied smoothly, wrapping her arms around his waist as she peered up at him with a beaming smile. "Lord Béranger actually apologized to me for hitting me, _and_ he didn't want to drink my blood! It was like having a day off."

Gabriel forced himself to return her smile as he wrapped her in his embrace. Don't get him wrong, he was glad she was so happy and had a good day. He just couldn't stand that not getting her blood forcibly drunken from her for a day was considered a day off for her.

If he had the chance, he would show her what a day off truly was. She wouldn't have to lift a finger, she'd be waited on hand and foot, have all her cares melted away.

"I don't know what made Lord Béranger act so differently, but I got to admit that I'm glad it happened. You think he'll be the same tomorrow?" Céline murmured hopefully against his shirt, her warm cheek pressing against the fabric. In turn, Gabriel smiled and pressed a kiss to the crown of her head.

"It's possible. I'm sure Beatrice and Veronique will act the same as well."

Céline stiffened. Her arms loosened from around his waist as she slowly picked her head up to look at him in suspicion. Gabriel rose a questioning eyebrow in return, not having any idea why she was looking at him like that.

"I didn't tell you anything about Lady Beatrice and Lady Veronique," she said, appearing more and more skeptical with each word spoken.

Gabriel froze, his mouth parting in realization.

Oops.

She took a step away from him, his expression only confirming it.

"You confronted him, didn't you?"

Gabriel glanced away, refusing to answer.

"Didn't you?!" she shouted, temper sparking. She couldn't believe this! He lied to her, right to her face! She angrily pointed a finger at his chest, eyes flashing.

"You promised me you wouldn't interfere! You _lied_ to me!"

Her body trembled with barely restrained rage, the urge to slap him all too great. She trusted him to leave things alone, trusted his word that he wouldn't do anything. But he lied and did it anyway, effectively putting her at risk for Lord Béranger's revenge.

"Do you know what could've happened?" she demanded, grabbing his shirt and sharply tugging it to her so that he could finally face her. To his credit, he at least looked shameful. "He could've done something worse to me in exchange for whatever you did to him! He could've killed me if he wanted to."

Gabriel's eyes brightened, reminding her of the furious glow they displayed only yesterday.

"That would not have happened," he murmured darkly, his mouth twisting into a scowl. "And it's a good thing that I interfered. If I didn't, that would've only encouraged him to hit you again. I had to do something!"

"No you didn't!" she argued, her fingers clenching into tight fists at her sides. "I explicitly told you not to do anything, and you promised you wouldn't. I didn't want any more trouble and you knew that! But you went behind my back and did it anyway. I _trusted_ you!"

"It was for the best," Gabriel growled, reaching with his hand for her cheek. When she stubbornly turned away, he retracted it with a grimace.

"If I didn't do anything, then he would've went on thinking that he could hit you without any repercussions." His voice softened, internally he was pleading with her to understand. "Céline, I care about you. I don't want to see you hurt. You shouldn't have to live like this."

She sighed, her shoulders relaxing as she could feel the anger start to ebb away. Granted, she was still annoyed by the fact he disregarded her wishes, but he only did it because he didn't want her to get hit again. However, he had to know that vampires were allowed to treat their blood slaves in whatever way they deemed fit. If Lord Béranger started hitting her on a daily basis, there wasn't much of anything she could do, and Gabriel had to know that.

"Gabriel, I'm his blood slave. He's allowed to do whatever he wants to me. You have to remember that."

He looked down to the floor, seeming to be considering something. Céline surmised this to mean that he was silently admitting she was right.

"It doesn't have to be like that," he suddenly whispered, breaking the silence. She peered up at him in confusion, wondering what he was getting at. She guessed that his words were sort of true, that her life didn't have to be like this. If she was never kidnapped, she would have had the life of any other girl.

Nothing had to be the way it was. But that was just it; it _was_ like this, and nothing was going to change it.

"Gabriel, what are you-"

"Marry me."

She felt the blood drain from her features. Her body slackened as her mind raced. That-that was-she couldn't have heard right. She had to be mistaken. He probably said 'merry me' because he was merry about the Christmas season…even though Christmas had long come and gone. She still had the emerald necklace he gifted her with safely tucked away in her drawer, since she couldn't wear it without evoking suspicion on how someone like her acquired such an exquisite piece of jewelry.

"Gabriel," she whispered, at a loss for more words. She knew what he actually said, she wasn't going to pretend not to. She just had trouble wrapping her mind around it, at the meaning of it. She couldn't marry him, imagine the scandal it would bring to the world of vampires. His father would never allow it to happen. Gabriel was delusional.

"Céline," he murmured, softer this time as he took the extra steps needed to be in front of her. She stared up at him, wide-eyed stupefied, as he held both of her hands in his own. His fingers were cold, just as they always were. But would she mind holding them for the rest of her life? She still wasn't sure if she was in love with him, after all.

"Marry me," he repeated. She gaped as he got down on his knees, rendered speechless as he continued with his proposal. "I know I have my faults, but I promise I will make you the happiest woman in the world. I can give you so much, I can take you away from here and give you the life you deserve. You should be treated like a Queen, and I promise that you will be if you'll have me."

"But-but what about your father?" she stammered, trying in vain to get him to see reason. Her heart was fluttering with his passionate declaration, yet she wasn't about to lose herself in the pretty words and accept him. "He'd never approve."

"Actually, my dear, he already has." His lips curved into a knowing grin. "At this point he just wants me to marry and have an heir, no matter if my bride is a human or a vampire."

The breath left her lungs at this new information. His father, the King, approved of her? If she said the word that Gabriel was waiting to hear, then she would become Queen alongside Gabriel, who would be crowned King. She would live a life of luxury and help rule over the vampires in France. She would never have to perform another chore or have her blood taken from her ever again. More than that, she would become a vampire, herself.

That would mean drinking human blood, something she wasn't sure if she could bring herself to do. She could be merciful about it, she supposed, and not kill the human in question. But still, it was _blood_! The very idea nauseated her.

And then there was the small duty of bearing an heir for the throne. She would have a little girl or boy to take care of, with Gabriel's help, of course. A little princess or prince, feeding them and washing them and clothing them and teaching them…was she ready for that?

"Céline, are you alright?" Gabriel's voice sounded through the tumultuous thoughts in her mind. She could barely discern what he was saying, the black spots dancing in her vision didn't help any matters in seeing him. However, she was able to sense that he was now standing and holding her by the forearms.

"Céline?"

She slowly blinked, allowing her vision to regain focus before she looked at him again. He was frowning, guilt hitting her once she realized that the expression was out of concern and pain he tried to hide. She couldn't blame him for feeling hurt; he proposed marriage and her reaction was to almost black out in fear.

She swallowed. "I'm fine," she replied in the ghost of a whisper. "Sorry about that, it was-it was just a lot to take in, you know? I mean…" she paused, shaking her head in awed disbelief of it all. "If I married you, I would be Queen and be turned into a vampire. It's a lot for so soon. I grew up a blood slave, and now I have the chance to become Queen of all the vampires in this country? It feels like it's not even real."

"It can be," he gently reminded her, steadily sliding his hands down her arms so that he could squeeze her hands in reassurance. "I know this is a lot to take in, but I can't stand the thought of you living here anymore, obeying orders and being abused by these people."

He leaned his head down, touching his forehead with hers. As they closed their eyes in unison, Céline couldn't help but notice that this was perhaps the most vulnerable she has ever seen him.

"I know that it would be difficult to get used to at first. I know that you would no longer be able to look at the sun or eat and drink. I know that you would never have the opportunity to grow old with your husband. And maybe I'm selfish for asking, but would you marry me, anyway? Despite what you would be losing, I swear to you that I'd make it up to you. I promise you that you would be happy with me."

Her heart was literally swelling with warmth. Never before had she heard someone speak to her so romantically. He had come so far from the arrogant, forceful asshole she had encountered all that time ago at the Winter Ball. While remaining a little reserved, he still opened up to her and respected her, treating her better than anyone ever has. He made her feel wanted, special. To him, she was more than a lowly blood slave. To him, she was practically a goddess deserving of worship.

She reached up with her hand, lightly placing it on the back of his neck to bring him down for a kiss. Their lips melded together, both of them taking their time to try to fully express how much the other meant to them.

"I love you," she breathed when they pulled apart, and for a moment a flash of hope sparked in his eyes.

"But I can't marry you."

And with that, it died. His flicker of a smile drooped, and she hated being the cause of it.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, blinking back tears. She didn't want to break his heart and reject him like this, but she needed more time to think. Marriage, especially marriage to a prince of a different species, was a lot to consider. "I just need a little more time." A light chuckle escaped past her lips. "This was a little sudden, after all."

To her relief, his lips quirked up in a small grin.

"Aren't all proposals kind of sudden, though?"

This time she fully laughed, her heart soaring when she saw him take part in her amusement by joining in her laughter.

Maybe he would have the answer he was hoping for sooner than he thought.

* * *

" _So, what happened after that?" Marinette asked, willing her voice not the slur by her fatigue. She prayed that Adrien wouldn't notice, because she knew that he would immediately leave to allow her to go to sleep. She knew he could be infuriatingly kind like that._

 _Thankfully, Adrien smiled as if he didn't notice at all. Or if he did, he didn't make any move to leave._

" _He kept visiting every day, and each time before he would leave he would ask her to marry him. She kept saying 'no' every time, until finally, on the night he didn't ask, she said 'yes'." Adrien chuckled. "She waited until he didn't ask to accept him."_

 _Marinette softly snorted, honestly thinking that it was something Adrien would do. It certainly wouldn't surprise her._

" _The day she said 'yes', he took her back to the castle and soon enough the wedding preparations were being planned. She had this beautiful dress that seemed to flow for miles."_

 _Adrien's gaze was fixed to a point somewhere above Marinette's head, a faraway look in his eyes as a smile tugged at his lips. Marinette couldn't help but smile with him, a part of herself practically melting at the calm, contented look his displayed._

" _After the wedding, my father turned her into a vampire. Their first ruling as King and Queen was to outlaw the concept of the 'blood slave'. Vampires were not allowed to own another human being under any circumstances. The humans that were already blood slaves were immediately freed, with the option to be turned into vampires themselves._

" _Those that chose not to simply returned to their homes. My parents weren't at all worried about the exposure of vampires, since they doubted that even if the blood slaves told their secret, nobody would believe them. I mean," he paused to give her an amused grin, "you didn't believe me until I showed you my fangs."_

 _Marinette playfully huffed and crossed her arms together, prompting Adrien to laugh._

" _Well, excuse me for believing that vampires weren't real. It's not my fault that everyone is told that since they were kids, along with witches and werewolves and ghosts."_

 _Adrien's amusement gradually died down soon enough. He took a deep breath before he continued to speak, still retaining a soft smile as he did so._

" _A couple years later I was born. Everything was perfect. Maman and Papa would spend almost waking moment with me. Sometimes we would go on nightly walks together, and Maman and I would catch fireflies while Papa couldn't understand why we were so fascinated with insects that just had butts that lit up."_

 _Marinette giggled as Adrien chuckled at the memory. She could almost picture it, a little, fluffy-haired blond boy running around catching fireflies with his hands, his mother right behind him laughing and helping him by catching more._

" _Every day before I went to bed she would sing me to sleep." At this, his smile dimmed. His eyes stayed to the blanket, only half aware that he wasn't actually back at the castle, lying in his bed as a child and listening to his mother's sweet, angelic voice. He remembered how the song would end as he was on the verge of sleep, the last thing he could recall being his mother's lips on his forehead accompanied with her whispered, 'good day, Adrien. I love you.'_

 _He would give anything to hear that sentiment again._

 _Marinette tilted her head in concern when Adrien stopped talking. Her heart clenched to see him brokenly staring at her blanket, trapped in whatever memory he was reliving. She waited until he regained his bearings, not wanting to interrupt him for what was probably going to be the 'unhappy part' he originally spoke of before starting the story._

 _Adrien shivered as he sucked in a breath, a breath he technically didn't need but felt he needed now more than ever. He hadn't thought this much about his mother in years. Yes, sometimes a memory of her would resurface, but he would never dwell on it for too long. Despite 14 years passing, the pain was still there._

" _Everything was perfect," he whispered, swallowing. "We were happy…until one day about a week after my sixth birthday…"_

* * *

"Papa?"

Gabriel slid his hand off his cheek, a visible sign of his stress to turn to his son. Adrien stood in the doorway to his study, clutching his blue blanket in one hand while holding his favorite black cat plush in the other. His kwami Plagg hovered over the boy's shoulder, silently staring at Gabriel in veiled worry.

"Yes, son?" Gabriel replied, trying to mask his own worry. There was no need for his son to feel the same emotion.

"Where's Maman?" Adrien mumbled, yawning soon after.

Gabriel grimaced before quickly recovering by flashing him a smile, a smile that reassured that nothing was amiss. That he had not been wondering the same question himself since the previous night.

"She just went out for a feeding, nothing unusual. Now, go back to bed. You know it's past your bedtime."

"But she always sings before I go to sleep," Adrien protested, now bringing the cat plush, the one his mother had hand-sewn for him, to his chest. "And gives me a good night kiss. I can't sleep."

Gabriel sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He had to get Adrien back to bed, he didn't want him to be up all day questioning when his mother would return. A 6-year-old shouldn't have to ask questions like that.

"I'll send Maman in when she gets back, okay? But you have to be a good boy and go back to bed for that to happen, okay?"

Adrien faltered, tilting his head as he gazed in suspicion at his father. Gabriel was yet again struck by the resemblance his son and wife shared, the recognition bringing an aching pang to his chest.

"Papa, are you okay? You look sad."

Gabriel lightly scoffed, a corner of his lips curling up as he shook his head. Adrien was certainly growing into quite an observant child, indeed.

"I'm fine, it's nothing you need to worry about. Now, go back to bed. Your mother will be back before you know it."

"Okay," Adrien sighed through another yawn. He took the steps needed to reach his father, holding his arms up to be lifted. Gabriel obliged without a word, settling his son in his lap and pressing a kiss to his forehead.

"I hope she gets back soon," Adrien mumbled, burrowing his way deeper into his father's shirt. "It's not night anymore. What if she gets burned?"

"She won't," Gabriel assured with another kiss, this time upon the top of Adrien's head. "She has a Miraculous, remember? Just like you and me." At this he poked a finger in his son's stomach, drawing out a laugh from the little boy. The light sound brought a smile to Gabriel's own features.

"She's just a little late, that's all. She's fine."

Now if only he himself could believe that.

"Okay," Adrien acquiesced, smiling before hopping off his father's lap. He walked back to the doorway, squeezing his cat plush and calling out a 'good day, Papa!' prior to running out of the room, presumably back to his own room.

However, Plagg didn't immediately return with his holder. He simply continued to stare at Gabriel, not saying a word, but the hollow look in his eyes spoke volumes.

Gabriel turned, unable to look any longer in fear of having his doubts even more heightened. Plagg flew out of the room seconds later.

He sat for a while more, for how long he couldn't say. It felt like hours to him, waiting for news on the return of his beloved wife. He had Master Fu loan out a few Miraculous to a few trusted servants, for cover in the daytime should their search progress for that long.

And with the growing minutes, it would seem that it would progress for that long.

He would've gone out to look for her himself, there was nothing more he wanted than that. But he couldn't leave without someone in charge at the castle. Moreover, he couldn't leave Adrien alone. He didn't want his son to be separated from both of his parents, even if it would be for a short period of time.

A knock on the study door jolted him from his thoughts. Turning around in his chair, he saw his Royal Advisor, Nathalie, at the door. Her face was grim, even as she spoke the words Gabriel has been waiting to hear for hours.

"We found her."

There was something wrong. He felt his stomach drop, Nathalie's eyes straying to the floor doing nothing to calm his nerves.

"Is she injured? She has a Miraculous, she shouldn't have been burned in the sunlight," he said, hoping that his worst fears wouldn't be confirmed. He didn't know what he would do if he lost her.

Nathalie grimaced, actually appearing sick.

What was going on?

"There's…there was a box, Your Majesty. Found in the woods."

Gabriel lifted a single brow in puzzlement.

"A box? You came here to tell me about a box? Where is my wife?!"

He slammed a fist against the desk, cracking the wood beneath his palm. He trembled, unsure if it was from anger or dread. It was most likely a mixture of both. Nathalie flinched from the abrupt noise and snap of temper, but she was able to recover fairly well. In no time, her face was almost the blank slate it always was.

"She's…" Nathalie stopped, and all at once the slate cracked. Gabriel's shoulders slackened as he saw her squeeze her eyes shut and press a hand to her mouth, her muffled breath coming out in hiccups. If vampires could cry, Gabriel had no doubt that right now her body would be wracking with sobs.

Gabriel stood, squaring his shoulders and narrowing his eyes. Now wasn't the time to lose his head. "Take me to see this box," he ordered.

Nathalie shakily nodded, removing her hand from her mouth as she regained her breath. Walking stiffly with her hands clasped behind her back, Nathalie led the way to the throne room. Inside he was greeted with the sight of the two other servants he sent out to look for Céline, one of them holding an ordinary-looking brown shoe box.

Gabriel's lips tightened into a thin line. "Give it to me," he demanded.

The two men looked at each other in uncertainty, and one could say that looked back at Gabriel in what was _pity_.

"Give me the box," Gabriel spoke with clenched teeth.

The servants hesitated a second longer before complying, bowing their heads as they box was surrendered to him. As Gabriel took it, he noted that it felt quite heavy, heavier than the pair of shoes that must have come from this box. That hollow feeling presented itself again in his gut, that feeling that something was very, _very_ wrong. He bit lip, just staring at the box in contemplation.

No one urged him to open it. That was probably what made it worse.

But he was King, and if this box was related to his wife's disappearance, then he had to steel himself and open it.

He dragged in a shaky breath, fingers trembling as he held the lid. Deciding it was best to get it over with, he ripped the lid off.

His eyes widened in horror as he stared into his wife's lifeless ones. Her mouth was open in silent fright, the look frozen on her face for the rest of time. Despite the way she had come back, her golden hair was as immaculate as ever, the curls still voluminous and shining, as if the hair was too beautiful to damage. Her skin, while paler, was still flawless and without a blemish.

Except for the mark burned onto her forehead, the symbol of the most dangerous and notorious group of vampire hunters in France. The mark that claimed her as their latest kill.

Gabriel slammed the lid back down, his eyes screwing shut so as not to look at the horrible image any longer. Yet it was still cruelly there, engraved for eternity in his mind.

He didn't know how long he stood there, tightly gripping the box in his hands with his head turned away. He vaguely registered the sounds of two pairs of footsteps walking away, most likely to give him privacy. The only one who stayed was Nathalie, awaiting orders with haunted eyes pinned to her shoes.

"Nathalie," he said at last, his voice strained. He hadn't yet lifted his head to look at her.

"Yes, Your Majesty?" she quietly replied, not able to look at him either. If she did, she might break again. While having never experienced it for herself, she knew that there was no greater pain a vampire could have than losing their Loved One.

"Arrange for a proper burial service," he ordered lowly, almost without emotion. She didn't blame him, it was ingrained in his head since he was young that a King never showed his true emotions.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Nathalie tentatively reached for the box in his hands. Gabriel opened his eyes and tugged it back, closer to his chest. Something in her chest tightened at seeing the desperate look in his eyes.

"I'll arrange everything, Gabriel. I'm-I'm sorry, about this." She was good with words when fulfilling orders, but words of comfort? It was a lost cause for her. Luckily, having known her for so long, Gabriel understood her regret and inner sorrow. Céline and Nathalie had grown to become friends, after all.

Gabriel gently put the box into Nathalie's waiting fingers. She swallowed as she looked back in his eyes again, eyes she felt would forever be darkened and dull.

"Do you wish for me to tell Adrien?"

Gabriel's eyes widened.

Adrien. What was he going to tell him?

"Oh, God," he choked out, covering his forehead with his hand. Adrien…how was he going to tell him that his mother was dead? That he would never hear her voice again or have another good day kiss from her lips? How would he tell his son that he would never catch fireflies with her again, or laugh with her, or receive any more hand-sewn stuffed animals from her?

He was only six, much too young to lose his mother. Would he even understand?

"No," he decided, his voice a rough whisper. "No. I'll do it."

Nathalie frowned. "Are you sure?" She didn't want to think about the pain of a father having to break this sort of news to his son.

Alas, Gabriel stiffly nodded. "Yes. He shouldn't hear it from anyone other than myself."

Nathalie returned the nod in understanding. "As you wish, Your Majesty."

Bowing, she turned and left the throne room, that horrible box in her hands as she disappeared out of Gabriel's sight.

He waited a few more minutes to make the heavy trek to Adrien's room. All the while a series of speeches played in his head. Obviously he couldn't tell him what _really_ happened, a child should never hear that, even more that it happened to his own mother.

He still barely had an idea of what to say when he found himself standing in front of the pristine, shined wood of the door. For a moment he considered backing away, returning to his room and never telling Adrien. But then he would have to live with the constant questioning. The 'where's Maman?' and 'when is she coming back?' He didn't think he would be able to hear those questions every day until Adrien matured enough to realize why Céline was really gone.

Biting his lip and squaring his shoulder, he slowly twisted the knob of the door, opening it without a creak. Yet somehow, Adrien still heard, abruptly sitting up with a joyous smile lighting his face.

"Maman!"

Gabriel's heart clenched as he saw Adrien slacken.

"Papa? Where's Maman? You promised that if I was good that I would see her!" He pouted and crossed his arms together. Meanwhile, Plagg silently flew away, knowing enough to give the father and son the privacy they needed. Did he know what had happened even before Gabriel did?

Nonetheless, he strode forward, sitting down on the bed feeling more exhausted than he had ever felt in his life. Adrien's expression shifted to that of concern, his arms slowly uncrossing as he scooted closer to his father.

"Papa? What's wrong? You look sad again."

He couldn't take it anymore. At once he grabbed Adrien by the shoulders and hugged him, pressing him tightly to his chest as his head buried its way in his son's shoulder. Adrien tensed, hugging him back but in confusion.

"Papa, what's going on?" he asked, his voice trembling in fear. Nothing ever got his father this upset before, Adrien thought only children reacted to problems like this. "You're scaring me."

Gabriel hesitantly pulled back, though didn't let go of Adrien's arms. He stared hard into the boy's eyes, and instantly made a vow that he would never let anything hurt Adrien. He would keep him under watch at all times to ensure that nothing bad ever happened to him. Most importantly, he would make sure that he never came into human contact. He would spend the rest of his life protecting his only son.

"Adrien, your mother…" He faltered, before he braced himself again. He could do this. He _had_ to do this. "Your mother went away."

Adrien's eyebrows furrowed in misunderstanding. "Went away?"

Gabriel nodded. "Yes, she…went away. She's-she's not coming back, Adrien."

It physically pained him to see Adrien stare up at him in horrified shock.

"Wh-what do you mean she's not coming back? Where is she?!"

Gabriel gently shushed him to quiet down, stroking his hair in the process. If he wasn't immortal, he'd was sure that this was killing him. This conversation shouldn't even be happening, he noted with bitter resentment. Resentment for the monsters who took Céline away from them. She was innocent, she had never killed anyone during her human life nor in her vampire life. She didn't deserve to die!

But he couldn't get angry now, not in front of Adrien. He still had to manage to tell him what had happened in a way he would understand.

Meanwhile, Adrien was shaking and gripping his cat plush so tightly his fingers threatened to push through the fabric.

"Maman went to a place called 'heaven', Adrien. She's happier there, it's a better place than this world." He hated this, hated the 'they're in a better place' excuse. But it was the best thing he had at the moment.

"Heaven?" Adrien repeated, perplexed until he brightened. "Can I go to heaven too?"

"No!" Gabriel snapped, perhaps too harshly from the way Adrien flinched back, looking like he had been struck. He couldn't help it, the idea of losing Adrien as well was too much for him. It was already heartbreaking enough to lose his Loved One, he had no idea what he would do if Adrien was ripped away from him, too.

"No," he sighed, feeling relieved when Adrien scooted closer to him again. He ran a hand through his son's hair as he continued to talk. "You're not ready to go there, Adrien. I _never_ want you to go there."

"But Maman's there, I want to see her," Adrien protested stubbornly. His bottom lip puffed out as he started to pout and cross his arms together. "Why can't I go there and see Maman?"

"Because," Gabriel stressed, exhaling as he could feel the string of his sanity almost snap. Who was he kidding, he couldn't do this. He should've let Nathalie tell him. "Once you go there, you can never come back."

"Does that mean Maman's not coming back?" Adrien mumbled, green eyes begging for his thinking to be wrong. How Gabriel wished he was wrong.

"Yes." His eyes closed, not able to look at him as he spoke the finality of his next sentence. "She's never coming back, Adrien. I'm sorry."

He had never seen his son look so heartbroken than in that moment, as the realization slowly began to make its way in Adrien's understanding. "Never? Not even once?"

He shook his head. "No, not even once."

"But…" Adrien hung his head, staring forlornly at the last plush from his mother that he would ever have. "But why?"

Gabriel took him in a hug as the boy started to heave in shaking breaths, inconsolable whimpers tearing out of his throat as his arms wrapped around his father's neck.

"I don't know, Adrien. I don't know."

…

Gabriel wasn't aware until Master Fu asked about it, that his wife's peacock Miraculous was still missing.

* * *

 _The silence in her room, while normally peaceful, suddenly seemed eerie and desolate._

 _Marinette could only stare, speechless as Adrien finished the story. He wasn't even looking at her anymore, his gaze firmly set on the blanket they were sitting on._

" _I didn't find out what really happened until I was 15, when I confronted Nathalie about it. If a vampire was immortal, then what could've caused my mother to suddenly die like that? At first she didn't want to tell me, not that I blame her. But eventually she confessed to what happened, and why my father kept me locked up for most of my life. I would also later realize that it was for this same reason as to why he was so opposed to me courting you."_

 _Her mouth opened, then closed without a single word escaping. What could she say for all this? She was sure he had to have heard the phrase 'I'm sorry' from numerous people growing up. She doubted that he wanted to hear it from her mouth, too._

" _I just," Adrien whispered in growing anger, his hands fisting in the bedsheets as he spoke. "I just don't understand. She never hurt anyone, when she drank someone's blood she never killed them. But a group of people decided that she deserved to die, anyway. They think we're all monsters."_

 _A sardonic laugh tore out of his throat and Marinette grimaced upon hearing the bitter sound._

" _They think they're heroes for killing us. But we haven't killed anyone. They're the real monsters, they're the ones going around killing people for their own sick sense of morals. Maman didn't do anything to them. Why did she have to be killed?!"_

 _By the end of his rant he was gripping his hair in his fingers, bending over so that Marinette couldn't see the anguish on his face. He wanted to cry, to sob as much as he did when he first heard of his mother being killed in such a violent way._

 _But vampires weren't granted that ability, a habit that was so human to have._

 _Marinette couldn't take it anymore. Her heart breaking as she pulled Adrien to her chest, allowing him to grieve on her shoulder. His arms found their way around her own shoulders, trapping her there but she was in no hurry to dislodge herself from him._

 _Before she could talk herself out of it, she pressed a tender kiss to his hair, feeling slightly apologetic that her tears undoubtedly wetted the other strands. She felt him briefly stiffen, then just as quickly relax in her arms._

" _It's okay," she whispered, even though she knew it really wasn't. His mother was murdered, just for being a vampire. Who could do something like that? A man's wife and a boy's mother was so needlessly torn away from them. And for what purpose, other than the sick morals that Adrien spoke of?_

 _She didn't say anything more as he continued to whimper and occasionally hiccup into her shoulder._


	18. Chapter 18

**No, your eyes aren't deceiving you. This is actually an update lol xD Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 18**

Ever since that night, Marinette and Adrien only continued to grow closer. It was like an invisible weight was lifted from their shoulders after Adrien let himself be completely vulnerable in her presence. Marinette shared some dark experiences of her own, although she believed they were nothing compared to what Adrien went through. But like the good, warmhearted person he was, he assured her that it wasn't a contest and that she could confide in him about anything without fear of judgement.

That was around the time she was beginning to realize that her feelings for him extended past friendship.

Alya met Adrien, and Marinette was pleased that they instantly seemed to click. After the standard introductions, they went on to converse as though they were old friends. They joked around, shared information about their daily lives, and Adrien was nice enough to sate her curiosity about vampires. At the end of it all, Alya informed her that Adrien officially had her approval, but not before taking part in a secret handshake with Adrien when he eventually left.

Overall, Marinette would say that the meeting went better than expected. The next time she saw Adrien she was sure to tease him about it, especially about the handshake. She joked that maybe he should try to pursue Alya instead, since he 'obviously' liked her more. Adrien had laughed at that, then reassured her that she was the only one for him.

Days turned into weeks, until finally winter came around along with Marinette's 18th birthday. At school her classmates were sure to wish her a happy birthday, and she was delightfully surprised to see that Nino and Alya got her presents. Nino gave her a CD with all her favorite songs, and Alya gave her a body care gift set that smelled liked roses along with a gift card to her favorite fabric store.

Afterward, Alya asked what they were going to do for her birthday later that day. With flushed cheeks, Marinette informed her that they could hang out after school, but she had plans with Adrien that night. He asked to take her out on a date, and since she was rapidly developing feelings for him, she accepted.

She remembered how he smiled so widely and how his eyes gleamed in utter joy when she said yes. She couldn't recall any other time he ever looked so happy.

As soon as she heard, Alya smirked and teasingly told her to have fun. Marinette blushed and sarcastically told her that she will, then slapped Alya on the arm when she remarked that maybe she should've bought her a present from the drug store instead.

"Don't worry, I'm sure Adrien already has that covered," Nino assured with a devilish grin, prompting Alya to laugh louder and Marinette to lean forward out of her chair to smack him over his hat.

"That's not going to happen," she grumbled, pouting more when Alya and Nino refused to cease their incessant snickering. "It's just an innocent date, that's it!"

"Whatever you say," Alya conceded with a lingering grin and a shrug. Her eyes opened to refocus on Marinette, who swore felt a bead of sweat run down her neck at the look in her friend's eyes. It was the same look she had whenever she got invested in a juicy story and was hungry for more information.

She raised her finger to point at Marinette's nose, her tone brokering no argument. "But you better give me all the details tomorrow, okay?"

Marinette nodded, her lips naturally quirking up into a small, amused smile. "Of course. Best friends always tell each other about their dates."

Alya smiled in satisfaction as a mischievous twinkle took over her eyes.

"You got that right. Speaking of, hey Nino?"

Nino raised his eyebrows, a bit thrown off at the new attention directed on him. "Yeah?"

Alya rested her elbow on the desk, using it to help prop her chin on her fist. She peered down at him, eyelids slightly lowered and a tempting grin curling her lips. Nino gulped as he felt warmth instantly flood his face; he hoped his cheeks weren't noticeably red.

But when Alya snorted softly, he knew it was a lost cause.

"Since Marinette has a date with her prince, how about we go to the movies instead?" She leaned up and over the desk, using her arms to support herself. Nino's breath caught in his throat at the sultry look she was giving him, her seductive voice not helping any matters at all.

He licked his lips, eyes locked on hers as he tried to find anything that would tell him that this was a joke.

He swallowed when he couldn't find anything incriminating or untrustworthy.

"Does that sound good, wolfie?" she practically purred, and just like that he was rendered incapable of speech. Or any other reaction, really. He froze, his heartbeat pounding in his ears as her eyes gradually sharpened and she tilted her head in concern.

"Nino? Are you okay?"

He wanted to tell her that yes, he was okay. He wanted to tell her that yes, he would love to go to the movies with her. He wanted to be able to open his mouth and say something, _anything_ , and not look like an idiot in front of her. Sadly, lately he was more prone to doing that whenever they conversed.

"He'd love to!" Marinette chimed, shooting a wink Nino's way before Alya turned around to stare at her in curiosity. Nino smiled and exhaled in relief, never more thankful for being friends with Marinette. He guessed he would have to thank Adrien for that…on second thought, it might be better not to. A smug Adrien Agreste was an irritating one.

Alya shrugged, then looked over her shoulder to grin cheekily at Nino. "Alright, guess I'll see you tonight then."

If he didn't know any better, he would say she knew exactly what she did to him. Hell, there was no doubt in his mind that she knew she could reduce him to a pile of frozen mush. At least didn't seem to be turned off by it.

When Mme. Bustier eventually came and started the lesson plan, Nino held his phone under his desk and searched for a movie that Alya would be interested in. Meanwhile, Marinette was thinking of what she could wear on _her_ date. Adrien said it would be a nice place, which was undeniably code for 'super-fancy so dress like you belong there'.

Okay, the meaning probably wasn't that harsh considering it came from Adrien, but still! She couldn't just wear the first thing she saw in her closet; she had to put effort into this. Then again, she didn't want to dress so fancy that it looked like she was trying too hard, either. She had to achieve the perfect amount of elegance and casual.

She slowly smiled as she copied the latest note from the board into her tablet.

She had just the outfit in mind.

…

Marinette breathed out through pursed lips as she stared at her reflection in the full-length mirror set up in her bedroom. The black, collared button-down bodysuit was neatly tucked into the band of her pleated red skirt that swished around her thighs whenever she moved. She opted for a simple pair of black, round-toed pumps with a shorter heel for shoes. She knew how clumsy she could be; she didn't want to wear higher heels and risk falling in front of Adrien.

For the better part of the last five minutes, she kept fastening and undoing the top button of her shirt. She couldn't decide if it would look better with the top button undone or not, since both equally looked good.

She ditched her usual hairstyle of twin tails. Tonight, she left her hair loose, letting it fall naturally to her shoulders. She kept the mascara on her eyes but added a coat of red lipstick to her lips, the only addition of makeup to her face that she made.

She once more gave a critical eye to her reflection. Granted, she thought she looked great, but the little worries kept nagging at her in the back of her mind. Was she overly dressed? Too little? What if this shade of lipstick really didn't suit her at all? What if the heels really were too high and she fell, sprained her ankle, and have Adrien walk out of her life because he thought she was a klutz beyond helping?

Marinette scowled and shook her head. No, she looked _fine_. This date was going to go smoothly, she wasn't going to trip, and Adrien would be lovestruck. Tonight would be perfect.

With that in mind, she finally glanced away from the mirror to her black purse at her side, opening it up and taking out her cell phone from within to check the time.

5:42. Adrien said he'd pick her up at 6.

Marinette quietly giggled, musing that they really should exchange numbers at some point, preferably tonight if all went well. She wondered what kind of texter he was. He didn't seem the type to always use slang and shortened words. He probably always used correct punctuation, spelling, and grammar.

But she couldn't picture him being a boring texter like that. He most likely spiced it up with emojis befitting whatever mood he was in.

A sudden thought made her frown. What if he was the kind of texter who overloaded his texts with emojis? Marinette hated those kinds of texts…oh well, she supposed that if he was like that she could get over the petty issue.

"Marinette!" her mother's voice called, prompting her to turn towards the unopened trapdoor. "Your date is here!"

Marinette stiffened, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

Date? The only date she had tonight was with Adrien, who was probably going to come through the skylight to pick her up. He always came in that way. If he came through the front door, that would mean that he met her parents, and Adrien said nothing about doing that.

It couldn't possibly be Adrien, right?

"Marinette? Are you coming down?" Sabine asked, a concerned lilt to her tone.

"Ye-yeah," she answered back, buttoning up the top button and shoving her phone in her purse. She might as well go see this mystery boy and politely inform him that she wasn't going to go out with him.

You could say that Marinette was surprised when she walked down the stairs to see not only her parents sitting on the couch on either side of the mystery boy, but that the mystery boy himself was _Adrien_.

Her grip on the railing tightened in panic. Did Adrien tell them he was a vampire? No, they were all smiling and amicably talking with no trace of fear on either of her parents' faces. But surely they had to notice something was off, like the way his canine teeth were slightly sharper than the average human's. Or how his skin was colder to the touch than normal, because her father had to have shaken Adrien's hand at some point. Why would Adrien risk exposure like this?!

Her parents hushed as Adrien's head suddenly snapped up to look at her, green eyes slightly widening as he fully took her in. A coy smile stretched her lips when she observed his jaw slacken with awe.

Well, if everything else goes wrong, at least she could say that she accomplished in making Adrien lovestruck at the sight of her.

However, when Adrien stood, it was her turn for her mouth to drop.

Normally when she saw him he was either in his cat costume or some type of casual civilian wear. Up until now, she had never seen him dressed formally, and _oh_ what a sight it was to see.

He wore a navy blazer over a dark gray dress shirt with the two top buttons undone. The shirt itself tucked into a pair of dark denim jeans, a brown belt secured in the belt loops although she had a feeling it was more for show rather than holding his pants up. Overall, he had a great taste in clothing, and it was effectively making her stare than what was appropriately necessary.

A throat being cleared distracted the pair. Their heads swiveled around to Tom, the source of the noise. He smiled slyly, as if he knew everything that they were just thinking about each other before he interrupted. Marinette resisted the urge to bite her lip as she descended the rest of the stairs; she couldn't have her lipstick ruined this early because of an embarrassed lip-bite.

"You should have told us that you were going out tonight," Tom teasingly scolded her, then clapped a hand on Adrien's shoulder.

The vampire bent his knees as he pretended to be affected by the sudden weight added to his shoulder before standing back to his normal height. It wouldn't do to stand there and not react at all to it; any human would have buckled a little under the sudden weight.

"Especially since it's with Adrien," Sabine chimed in, sending a warm smile in Adrien's direction, who quickly returned it. "He's so nice, Marinette, and a gentleman too! He actually called your father 'sir' when he walked in."

As she giggled at the memory, and Tom's repeated assurances that Adrien didn't need to be so formal, Adrien looked away with a half-smile and rubbed the back of his neck. Marinette grinned, knowing that her mother was right with her compliments.

Sabine's amusement gradually died down, and with it came a disappointed pout aimed on her daughter, who blinked at the swift change of mood.

"Why would you hide him from us like that? He's such a nice boy, we would've loved to have meet him sooner! We could've invited him to dinner or-"

"Oh, I could never impose like that," Adrien interjected, then walked closer to Marinette. She was pleased that when he neared her nose could only pick up a whiff of some expensive cologne. Thank God he wasn't the type to drown his whole body in the stuff like some other guys did.

"You wouldn't be imposing," Tom objected, scooting closer to Sabine to wrap an arm around her shoulders. His wife smiled and leaned closer into the touch. "We would love to have you! Of course, you must try all our pastries-"

"A-Actually, while that does sound wonderful, Marinette and I should really be going," Adrien said, chuckling uneasily, something that Marinette immediately picked up on. Why did the idea of trying food from the bakery make him so nervous? Did he hate sweets?

"Oh! Well we wouldn't want to keep you two," Sabine complied, probably not noticing Adrien's agitation if her easy smile was anything to go by. Beside her, Tom nodded in agreement.

"Alright, get going then. You better keep her safe," he threatened, scowling playfully and pointing a finger at Adrien.

Adrien's hand slipped into Marinette's, their fingers instinctively twining together. She felt her cheeks warm as Adrien looked determinedly at her father, no hint of amusement or cheek on his features at all.

"With my life, sir."

There was no hope of Marinette trying to hide her smile, especially from the knowing gaze of her mother.

"I told you to call me 'Tom'!" he laughed, before proceeding to usher the pair out the door. Marinette only had time to grab her coat from the coatrack and pull it on. Honestly, she wasn't sure who was more excited for this date: her, Adrien, or her father.

"Sorry," Adrien apologized sheepishly. They waved at Tom and Sabine until they closed the door, almost leaving Marinette and Adrien alone. Almost, because Marinette had no doubt that her parents were peeking at them through the window.

She fondly shook her head, allowing Adrien to guide her towards a nice-looking black car that she had no idea what the name was. But she could tell one thing: that it had to be very expensive.

"You drive?" she asked, thoroughly surprised. He never told her he could, and whenever he came over he just ran straight to her room. She assumed he didn't need to know how to drive and therefore wouldn't waste his time learning.

"Of course, even vampires sometimes have to drive once in a while," he quipped, flashing her a grin. "Besides, it's almost winter. I wasn't going to let you freeze, so I rented a car to keep you warm on the way there."

It occurred to Marinette right then that he didn't have to do this at all. He certainly wasn't bothered by the cold temperature; he could stand out here for hours and be just fine. Yet he rented a car just so that she wouldn't be cold. Even if he did carry her there, with his enhanced speed there still would've been a few minutes when she would shiver.

"Thank you," she bid, peering up at him brightly. Her next thought was bold, reckless even, but she could only think of one way to express her gratitude.

Stretching to her tip toes, she leaned in and pecked him on the cheek.

Adrien's eyes grew comically wide as her feet were planted flatly once more on the ground. She nearly laughed when his grip tightened on her hand and he looked away from her, but not before she caught the smile on his face. If vampires could blush, she would swear that he would be red from his neck to the tips of his ears.

"Well, we better get going," she said breezily, lightly brushing past him to get to the passenger door. Adrien managed to snap out of it, only because of his gentlemanly urge to open the door for her.

He cleared his throat once he got into the drivers seat, clearly trying to not be any more flustered.

Marinette had to press her lips together to keep from giggling. For being a creature that had the reputation of being terrifying and dangerous, he was such a dork sometimes.


End file.
